


Take me Under this Moonlight

by thecarlonethatalsowrites



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Mythology - Freeform, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-07-03 22:59:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 53,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15828672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecarlonethatalsowrites/pseuds/thecarlonethatalsowrites
Summary: Willa died. Wynonna left. Waverly was the last Earp who remained with their great-great grandfather’s pack, and the responsibility of leadership fell on the youngest sister.  Waverly did her best but she was never meant to lead, and the pack knows it. Forced to flee from their ancestral territory, the Ghost River Pack is in dire straits and their last hope is an alpha with a broken gun that abandoned them years ago.Nicole had a healthy skepticism when it came to the supernatural. She never truly believed in it until a dynamic pair of sisters thrust their way into her life. Now she has to deal with the fact that all she knew was really a lie, and maybe her dad wasn’t as crazy as everyone thought he was…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jsyk this ISNT an a/b/o fic. If you’re looking for that sorry to disappoint!

It was the darkest time of night and hardly a creature stirred from their beds. Though it was only early October, the night air held a distinct, biting chill that made the few citizens of Purgatory who were awake turn up their collars and stuff their hands deeper in their pockets. The city’s nightlife was decidedly lackluster after one in the morning, and the city lights weren’t enough to pierce the unending black veil of night. For tonight, that veil seemed to fall far longer than it should. The lack of moonlight made the blackness between the stars stretch farther than usual.

It was in this cold, lengthy night that six beastly shapes slunk through the shadows. The Ghost River Wolf Pack had come to Purgatory. In the clear lead were two figures. One was an abnormally large male with dark gray fur. Because of his coloring, his outline was unclear in the darkness. Only by his movement could one see he was there. The other was a slender golden she-wolf. She snapped at the male as he came too close, trying to bully his way into the lead. Make no mistake; this she-wolf was in charge, no matter how tenuous her claim on it was.

The pack’s progress was severely hampered by the fact that not a single one of its members were uninjured. The golden she-wolf was favoring her left front paw, and the massive gray wolf had several deep gashes across his shoulders. A smaller brown male was limping next to a gray female holding her head at a funny angle to keep from disturbing the bite marks on her neck. But their pace was worst of all hampered by an elderly female who had to lean heavily on a wolf with rather long, distinctive whiskers to even walk.

Her muzzle was streaked with gray and combined with the scars across her body it was obvious she had led a hard life. Her age-gray fur was dark in places with blood, new wounds crisscrossing with old scars. She whimpered only occasionally despite the incredible pain she must have been in. Each time she let out a noise of pain, the lead wolf whipped her head around and let out a soft whine. The matriarch growled when she looked back, fed up with being the one to slow the pack.

As they staggered toward the city, a cool breeze blew over the exhausted wolves. The lead female lifted her nose as it brought with it the scents of the city. She wrinkled her nose as the stink of asphalt permeated it. They were still too far away for her to distinguish the one scent they were hunting for, but the pack knew their target. They were close enough that their hearts yearned for their long-lost pack member, prepared to let her among their ranks even after all the time she had been away.

Leading her grizzled pack, the golden she-wolf lowered her head and continued on her determined journey to bring her sister home.

* * *

 

Nicole tucked her legs under her as she settled into her comfortable couch. There was a chill in her apartment, so she dragged a well-worn afghan over her legs before setting her bowl of popcorn on her lap. She pulled her oversized sweater over her left hand and used the other to flip through channels on the tv with the remote. It was early in the season for it to be this cold and Nicole found herself mentally preparing for winter. She should probably buy another throw, she thought as a frown crossed her face and she picked at the unraveling afghan.

As she clicked through the channels, she paused as a snarling burst from the television. In black and white a man fought off a wild beast. A werewolf, Nicole decided as she continued to watch. A quick check of the channel guide told her the movie was the original  _ Wolf Man _ . Nicole rolled her eyes. Halloween was almost a whole month away and the channels were already resorting to old movies since they’d already played everything that came out since the 40s. As a kid she’d liked Halloween enough, free candy was always a huge plus. But as an adult, the holiday lost most of its flavor. All it reminded her of now was having to arrest adults half-naked in their costumes for drunken behavior. She’ll never be rid of the image of a sexy Ronald McDonald covered in various liquids in the back of her police cruiser.

Still, her dad liked this movie. Nicole had seen it with him once or twice and while it was horribly cheesy it was still the best thing that was on right now. Plus it wouldn’t give her nightmares. She set the remote on the couch next to her despite the high likelihood of it being eaten by the cushions and settled in to watch.

She ate steadily through her popcorn until she regretfully decided that dragging her finger through the butter pooled at the bottom of the bowl and licking it was a new low, even for her. She set the bowl on her coffee table. There was still quite a bit of the movie left as Nicole leaned back against the couch. However, it was interrupted by a horrible barking and snarling that wasn’t coming from the tv. Apparently, her neighbor’s dogs were getting into it with a stray again. Nicole searched for the remote for a few seconds before groaning exasperatedly. It was already lost to the couch, so she gave up and moved to the window without pausing the movie.

But before she reached the window, a terribly menacing growl split the air. It was followed by the pathetic whimpering of the neighbor’s dogs. Nicole rushed over the few feet over to the window, curious and a bit terrified at what could cow her neighbor's rather formidable dogs into submission. She pressed her nose against the glass, cupping her hands against her face to block out the light of her living room and better see outside.

Oh. Not one stray. Six hulking, vaguely canine shaped forms crouched just outside the neighbor’s fence. Nicole searched the backyard before spotting the two dogs on the house side of the fence huddled as close to the house as they could get, trying to stay as far away from the pack as possible. The sounds of the television faded into the background as Nicole’s heart sped up and her breath fogged the glass. She stood petrified at the window. She couldn’t tear her gaze away.

Apparently, the strays could feel it. Nicole’s breath caught in her throat as one of them turned a massive head in her direction. Its glowing eyes seemed to pierce into her soul. It was watching her back. Nicole leaped away from the window, spooked. A chill ran up her spine as her pulse pounded in her throat. With extreme caution, she approached the window once again. She peered towards where she last saw the figure but her eyes couldn’t pierce the darkness. They were gone. Or never really existed. A growl from the television made her think this was all a late night illusion. But no, the neighbor’s dogs were still cowering next to the porch. Something very strange was lurking outside her home.

Whatever it was, it was gone now. Nicole sighed as she walked over to the couch and started rooting through the cushions for the remote. She would probably have nightmares tonight even though she thought she was safe. There was just something unnerving about those eyes, so intelligent yet so feral at the same time. She was going to regret staying up so late when it came time for work in the morning.

* * *

 

“Someone looks like they woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Lonnie commented from the front desk as Nicole slouched into the station with a coffee in hand. She gave him a half-hearted glare.

“I’ll have you know I was up all night because…” she hesitated. Did she really want to tell Lonnie a pack of dogs she wasn’t even sure was real scared her so badly she couldn’t sleep? She decided to lie. “The dogs next door were barking like crazy.” 

“Sucks, man.” Lonnie rocked back on his chair and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Probably not the news you want right now, but the boss wants a report on that robbery you’re working.”

“Ugh, you’re right, I don’t want to hear that,” Nicole groaned.

“Case going that badly?” Lonnie asked smugly. Nicole narrowed her eyes at him.

“Says the guy manning the front desk.”

“Touche. Better not keep him waiting.” Nicole stalked past him into the bullpen. She dumped her things at her desk. Her coffee went in its designated paperwork free corner and her purse she left on her chair. She looked mournfully at the stack of paperwork in her to do tray before trudging her way to Captain Nedley’s office.

Nicole knocked on the doorframe. “You wanted to see me?” Nedley looked up from his computer where he was punching his keyboard with two fingers.

“Haught.” Nicole took that as an invitation to enter. She shut the door and Nedley finally looked her way. His sunken eyes narrowed at her disheveled appearance, which Nicole thought was hypocritical coming from a man who wore scruffy stubble and stained uniforms. He was a police veteran, so Nicole had to respect his experience in the department at least. “Cryderman is on my ass about this robbery. Tell me you have good news.” Nicole couldn’t keep the grimace off her face. Even with thirty years under his strained belt, he didn't know how to deal with impatient judges any better than she did.

“I know who did it and I have rock solid proof,” she began. Nedley perked up and Nicole winced in advance at her next sentence. “Only problem is he skipped town and I’m running out of leads in our jurisdiction. My most solid tip says he’s in Calgary. Plus he took the items with him, so there’s no recovering those until we get the perp.” Nedley’s face dropped back into a scowl.

“Dammit,” he muttered. “If this weren’t so high profile I’d say you’re doing a bang-up job, but Cryderman wants this hoser brought to justice quickly. It might be time to bring in our consultant.” Nicole barely held back a groan. She was worried he’d say that.

“Copy that, sir,” she mumbled. Nedley grunted and turned back to his computer, muttering under his breath about stupid judges not understanding that justice was a process and can’t he just wait for them to do their jobs? Nicole took that as her dismissal. Unconsciously trying to make herself look small, she scooched out of his office and shut the door behind her as quietly as she could. She kept her head down as she walked back to her desk, avoiding Lonnie’s gaze. 

Usually, she wouldn’t be dismayed at such slow progress on an arrest. However, this was her first high profile case, and she wanted to prove she could do the job she put her heart and soul into. Bringing in help from another officer wouldn’t be so bad, but begging a consultant to save her ass? And to make matters worse, Nicole knew exactly which one Nedley was thinking of.

“You look like someone pissed in your coffee.” Speak of the devil. Nicole looked up from where she was seated to be met with an eyeful of cleavage. “Wait, did someone actually piss in your coffee?” She asked, probably in response to the mournful expression Nicole gave her. She grabbed Nicole’s coffee, popped the lid, and took a deep inhale. She shook her head as she replaced the lid, setting it back down on the desk far from its designated spot. Nicole moved it over.

“Why is everyone pointing out how miserable I look today?” Nicole asked. One sleepless night, that’s all that happened. One sleepless night and one uncatchable robber. One police consultant she was being forced to hand her case over to.

Wynonna Earp leaned on her desk, supporting herself with one hand while the other rested on the grip of her Colt Buntline Special. Today must have been special if she was carrying it, for she rarely did. Nicole had never seen her even fire it and assumed it was more of an heirloom than anything. An old, distinctive white scar stood out from the back of her hand resting on the desk. Wynonna was a surly, drunken, loyal, aggressive woman with strange scars and a wicked tongue. As a person, Nicole liked her just fine. She even admired her a bit. But Wynonna the person was not in the building right now. She was Wynonna the bounty hunter, at the moment. The bounty hunter that had stolen more arrests from the Purgatory Sheriff's Department than Nicole had total.

“Hey, cheer up,” Wynonna said. “Whatever it is can’t be too bad. You’re too much of a goody two shoes to get in trouble with the higher-ups.” Normally Nicole would take that as a compliment, but right now Wynonna was here to steal her case and wasn’t making Nicole feel any better about herself.

“I have a case for you if you’re not busy,” she said flatly. She handed over the thick case file which contained weeks of work. All that was probably down the drain now that Wynonna was here. Her methods were...unconventional, but she got the job done and all the glory that went with it. Nicole wasn’t overly concerned with glory, but a few high profile arrests never hurt anyone’s career.

“Ugh, Cryderman. I hate that guy.” Wynonna wrinkled her nose as she read the file. She looked up when Nicole raised her eyebrow. “What? I do actually read these things,” she hoisted the file, “plus this dude’s got his paws all over this case.”

“It’s why Nedley wants you on it,” Nicole sighed. “Cryderman’s giving him a tough time with this case and he wants it solved, fast.”

“Well, you all but gave me the perp’s GPS location. I’ll have him in by the end of the day.” Wynonna grinned and it only served to dishearten Nicole even more. She really wanted the collar on this one.

She was so caught up in her own world she barely even noticed Wynonna’s demeanor change completely. She paled significantly, sat up ramrod straight, and slammed the file shut, no longer the epitome of casual.

“Dude, you have to hide me,” she said. Her eyes widened, then she dropped to the floor. Nicole nearly leaped out of her chair, startled as she was. As it were, she scooched back just enough to give Wynonna space to crawl under her desk.

“W-what? Why?” Nicole spluttered. She grabbed the edge of her desk so she didn’t topple backward as Wynonna shoved her away so she could have more room under the desk.

“I- please, I’ll do anything. I’ll give you the collar on this robbery.” The genuine fear in her eyes captivated Nicole. She was clueless as to what could reduce Wynonna to this begging, crawling mess. “My sister is here,” she whispered pitifully. Nicole’s eyebrows shot up just as she heard the bell on the front desk ringing.

“Lonnie can’t be on break already, I’ve been here for ten…” Nicole started muttering to herself but trailed off when she saw the woman standing at the front desk, her train of thought thoroughly derailed.

The woman had her arms crossed and was looking expectantly at Nicole, whose desk was closest to the front. One of her wrists was encased in a soft cast and there was some slight bruising around her eye. She wore a sheer pink bomber jacket that was fashionably too big over a crop top, and her long brown hair was in a messy side braid. Nicole had just enough time to think her outfit was inadequate for the unseasonably cool weather when she spoke up.

“Are you the on-duty officer here?” She asked. Nicole wanted to reach up and check to see if she had a nosebleed. That stare was so intense, unblinking. She was answering before she even thought about it.

“Uh, y-yeah,” She said and stood up. She couldn’t help but glance down at Wynonna, who was frantically pressing her finger in front of her lips. Nicole shook her head to clear it somewhat. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for my sister and was told I could find her here? Really ornery woman with hair that looks like it belongs in a Pantene commercial,” the woman said.

“W-well,” Nicole paused, unsure of what to do and feeling like each sister was a rock and a hard place she was stuck between. Wynonna was kind of her friend, but the woman at the desk was just so magnetic. “I just—she’s, uh, yeah.” Nicole ran her hand through her hair nervously. Under her desk, Wynonna facepalmed silently.

The woman at the front desk sighed impatiently. “I know you’re in here, Wynonna. Come out.” Nicole glanced helplessly down at Wynonna, who let out a dramatic groan before dragging herself out from under the desk. She stood up and dusted herself off.

“Hey, sis. You grew out your...hair.” All three women winced and fell into a tension-thick silence.

“I’m just going to go get a coffee.” Nicole jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Just—break room.” There wasn’t actually a break room where she was pointing. Nicole backed away from what felt very much like a Mexican Standoff. Nedley would kill her if those two destroyed the bullpen, but it was a small price to pay to avoid being in between  _ that _ . Nicole turned the first door handle she touched and backed into the room, not taking her eyes off of either sister.

She shut the door behind her and leaned against it with a sigh. Her escape room wasn’t much better than the bullpen, and she fumbled around in the dark looking for a light. She panicked for a moment when she couldn’t find a switch near the door and backed further into the room. Something long and thin dragged against the back of her neck and she jumped before realizing it was the light switch. Nicole fumbled with it before she managed to turn on the light that showed she was in a supply closet.

Well, this was great. She was going to wait out World War 3 in a closet by herself. She didn’t even have her phone, and she was plagued by her own thoughts. God, Wynonna’s sister was hot. But oh boy, was she scary

* * *

 

“Don’t you walk away from me, Wynonna,” Waverly said, furiously charging after her sister who took the first opportunity to scoot past her out of the police station. It had taken a day and a half to track her scent, she was not going to give up on her quarry now. She charged through the station doors after Wynonna.

“I’m not. I just don’t think the middle of a police station is the best place for our showdown,” Wynonna said over her shoulder.

“Oh, like the middle of the street is any—AGH!” She cried out as Wynonna grabbed her by the collar and dragged her around to the back of the building. 

As soon as they were out of sight, Wynonna turned and faced her square on. “What happened to you?” She gestured to Waverly’s face and cast. Waverly could barely contain the growl that threatened to rise up in her throat.

“What happened was you left and everything fell apart!” Waverly shouted. She took a breath to calm herself. It didn’t work very well. “I’ve been trying to keep the pack safe, but it’s kind of difficult when we all know I’m not the true alpha,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Waverly, you’re being unfair. I couldn’t stay after—”

“Bullshit!” She couldn’t keep the growl out of her voice, and Wynonna cowered back. Waverly might not have been a true alpha, but she was no meek little pup anymore. Wynonna kept her gaze lowered and her shoulders hunched in deference. “Everything is ruined! The homestead is destroyed and the Devil’s Triangle Pack is stronger than ever. We couldn’t hold against them, and now Gus is half dead and the pack is in the city—”

“What? The pack is in the city?” Wynonna’s gaze shot up. “Waverly, how could you?”

“Did you not hear the part about Gus being half dead? We couldn’t stay or we all would be full dead. What do you think this is from, a walk on the beach?” She waved her sprained wrist in Wynonna’s face. “And this is nothing! It’s been weeks since the battle, and you know how quickly we heal.”

“I didn’t think…” Wynonna trailed off and lowered her gaze again. Unconsciously she grabbed her left hand in her right and started rubbing the long scar across the back of it.

“That’s the problem. You never think,” Waverly said. The malice was gone from her voice. The last few weeks were so exhausting she didn’t have the energy to keep up a rage that had been boiling for three years. “Listen. I don’t expect you to come back and solve everything yourself. That’s not how the pack works. But we all know I was never meant to lead, and recent events have only proved that. I’m doing the best I can and it’s not enough and I hate that. I wish I could be everything to the pack that you are, but I’m not. Come home to us, Wynonna. Please.”

Maybe it was unbecoming of an alpha to beg. Waverly was beyond caring. All she wanted, all she needed, was to keep her family safe. And Wynonna was the best way to do that. She could see her wavering, her resolve to remain in exile weakened by Waverly’s passion.

“Is it even possible?” She asked weakly. “I willingly left. I abandoned the pack. They’re not just going to take me back.”

“You have Peacemaker.” Waverly gestured to the gun at Wynonna’s hip. “It’s the only thing that can help us.”

“It doesn’t work,” Wynonna said flatly.

“Because you left the pack.”

“It never worked. Did you ever see Daddy fire it? It’s because it’s broken. Kaput. The magic ran out.” Her hand dropped to the grip of the gun. “It can’t keep you safe,” she whispered.    

“Shit,” Waverly breathed. She couldn’t think of anything further to say as she stared helplessly at their last hope. Peacemaker was broken, and so was Wynonna. All Waverly’s hopes, all her confidence, dumped into a basket with no bottom. It left her feeling hollow. After all this, she still failed. She dragged wounded Gus out here for nothing, and now the pack was probably going to be hunted down by city folk. She had no illusions they entered the city stealthily. Six giant injured werewolves were hard not to notice. At least one person had already seen them. Waverly recognized the cop as the woman from last night.

“Uh oh, you have that look,” Wynonna said, startling Waverly from her thoughts.

“What look?” Waverly asked. She wasn’t giving a look.

“That look that means your brain is working furiously to come up with something to save our asses.”

“I don’t have that look,” Waverly said, even as she realized her brain was doing a thing.

Perhaps Waverly hadn’t put all her hopes onto Wynonna and had some in herself as well. She was an expert on the lore of her pack and the local supernatural. There had to be something there that could help them.

“I bet The Blacksmith could repower the gun,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Who what now?”

“The Blacksmith. She’s a powerful white witch. Pretty solitary, but she knew Curtis so she might be willing to help us.”

“Well let’s go right now! I just need to tell Haught-pants I need to do some stuff before helping her out.” Wynonna brushed past her as Waverly blinked a few times, trying to figure out what she was talking about. It finally came to her as Wynonna walked past on her way to the police station.

“Really, Wynonna? That cop was pretty, but do you really have to call her hotpants?” Wynonna paused and gave her a confused look.

“Ew, no dude. Her name is Haught. H-A-U-G-H-T.” Wynonna rolled her eyes and marched back into the station. Waverly loitered by the doors. Something about law enforcement never settled right with her. Maybe it was her Daddy’s influence still hanging over her. Either way, she didn’t have to wait long for Wynonna to come back out.

“Ready?”

“Yep.” Wynonna looked expectantly at Waverly. “Where’s our ride?”

“You’ve lived in the city for three years and you don’t have a car?” Waverly asked incredulously.

“You’ve lived in the middle of nowhere your entire life and you don’t have a car?”

“We literally escaped by the skin of our teeth. Excuse me if four wheels are slower and more noticeable than four paws.” They didn’t even have the clothes on their backs when they left the homestead. Thankfully, Curtis kept a safehouse maintained in the city.

“Alright, we’ll take my truck,” Wynonna said.

“Now was that so hard?” Waverly started after her.

“Get off my ass! Where are you guys staying, we can swing by and pick up Curtis since he’s the one who knows The Blacksmith.” Waverly stopped in her tracks at the passenger door of Wynonna’s blue pick up. Wynonna looked at her expectantly from inside the cab. Waverly hesitantly opened the door and slid into the passenger seat.

“Curtis didn’t make it,” she said. “He died in the last battle.” Wynonna’s hand froze on the ignition.

“Well, that old bastard always wanted to go out doing something noble,” she said after a moment. She cleared her throat. “I’m uh, I’m sorry he’s gone.”

“I miss him,” Waverly said.

“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Wynonna threw the truck into reverse and jerked out of her parking spot. She was never much for emotions. Waverly didn’t expect that much to change in three years. With Curtis’ death still so fresh, though, a heavy weight hung over the sisters. “So where’s this Blacksmith of yours?”

* * *

 

The Blacksmith’s forge was sweltering, not much more inviting on the inside than the barbed wire encrusted and landmine infested exterior. Waverly fought off the urge to remove her jacket. Biologically she and Wynonna ran warmer than average and the heat of the forge was causing sweat to prickle uncomfortably on her skin.

“I can’t do it,” The Blacksmith said as she examined the gun.

“What do you mean you can’t do it?” Waverly exclaimed.

“I mean,” The Blacksmith said with measured words, “all but the most basic of my magic is temporarily...gone. I can’t fix the magic of this gun any more than you can turn into a butterfly.”

“Some witch you are,” Wynonna muttered.

“I’d watch yourself, pup. Unlike your kind, I don’t rely on purely the supernatural to get by.” The Blacksmith’s gloved hand moved to an iron poker resting in her fire. Recognizing a fight brewing, Waverly stepped in.

“Ok, easy there. You said temporarily.” She guided the subject onto the more appropriate ground. “Is there anything we can do to help that?” The Blacksmith narrowed her eyes and didn’t take her hand off the poker, but at least her attention was on Waverly now.

“I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt because you’re Curtis’ nieces, but if you think I’d give up the secret to my powers to a faction outside of my own you severely misunderstand the politics of our world.”

“Lady, we’re about pretty much at the bottom of the pecking order at the moment,” Wynonna said.

“If you get that gun working, you’ll be more powerful than anyone.”

“We need this gun so we can protect everyone.” The Blacksmith laughed

“You werewolves, always so conceited. It’s not your job to protect anyone,” she said.

“A hundred and fifty years ago it was,” Waverly pointed out. The Blacksmith stared at her again, and Waverly forced herself to remain still under such a scrutinizing gaze.

“You truly believe that don’t you,” The Blacksmith said. “Very well, I admire transparency. However, I require more than just your word that you’ll keep my secret.” She removed her hand from the poker only to reach onto her worktable. She produced a small, bone handle knife that glimmered red in the light of the forge. “A blood oath. And I see one of you is already familiar with them.” She nodded at the back of Wynonna’s hand. Wynonna flinched and quickly covered it.

“Alright. You first. We don’t want to infect you,” Waverly said. The Blacksmith grinned wryly and rolled up her left sleeve, exposing her forearm. Along the outside near the elbow was a series of thin horizontal scars, much like the one on the back of Wynonna’s hand. None of them looked fresh, but one didn’t make blood oaths often. For her to have this many, all of them looking old, The Blacksmith must have been very ancient indeed. The Blacksmith lifted the knife and sliced her flesh just below the lowest scar. Blood welled to the surface and she wiped the blade on a clean rag hanging from her belt.

“This blood I willingly give, an oath I will not outlive. Scars to bind, our fates now entwined, I will not break this oath I take,” she spoke the words in a low voice before raising it to finish the oath, “I will help Waverly and Wynonna Earp restore their strength, at the cost of my life, honor, and power.” She handed the knife off to Waverly. She took it trepidatiously, barely able to keep her hand steady.

A blood oath was not something to be taken lightly. Waverly had never made one but she knew all the intimate details. She’d studied up after Wynonna made hers. The blood could be taken from anywhere on the body, and it had to be given willingly. Once an oath was made, it was unbreakable, and the scar never faded, even if it was made by someone with quick healing like Waverly or Wynonna. The placement of the scar didn’t matter, but having visible marks sent a very clear message. Creatures with visible blood oath marks were either not to be trusted or so against regret they didn’t care to hide their beliefs. The Blacksmith set precedence as the first to take the oath. Her scar was in a spot easily concealed, so Waverly could place hers wherever she liked.

“Use my full name, Mattie Perley,” The Blacksmith said when she saw Waverly hesitate. Well, there was no going back now. Waverly rolled up her own sleeve and slowly dragged the blade across the back of her arm in the same place The Blacksmith did, just above her cast.

“This blood I willingly give,” she said, fighting to keep her voice firm, “an oath I will not outlive. Scars to bind, our fates now entwined, I will not break this oath I take. I will return Mattie Perley’s source of magic to her and never tell a soul outside of this room what it is, at the cost of my life, honor, and power.” As the words left her mouth, her entire body tensed. To her eyes, the blood that welled from the wound was glowing gold and she startled. She looked back at The Blacksmith’s wound and saw it was now glowing white. Her hand shook as she handed the blade to Wynonna. Only now did she understand the gravity of what she just did.

Wynonna repeated the oath using the same words as Waverly. She placed her mark on the back of her arm as well, and Waverly watched as it glowed silver. As soon as the last words left her lips, two bright threads leaped from the light of Waverly’s cut and attached themselves to Wynonna and The Blacksmith’s. Their wounds did the same, connecting them all in a triangle of threads that glowed brighter and brighter until Waverly couldn’t bear to look at them. She turned her head away. The minute she did, her cut burned intensely for a few seconds before all the pain ceased. When it did, she finally opened her eyes and was shocked to find only a raised pink scar in the place of what was sliced flesh mere seconds ago.

“It is done,” The Blacksmith said. “Now I can tell you my secret. My power is focused through a sacred horn that was stolen along with several other artifacts a few weeks ago. I can devise a spell to track it, but if I leave my forge I am vulnerable and therefore cannot retrieve it myself.”

“No need to exert yourself,” Wynonna said, rubbing her new blood oath scar. “I know exactly where it is.”

* * *

 

Nicole growled as she put too much pressure on her pen and it tore through the report she was currently working on. With Wynonna in the wind, she had no way of following up on her perp, so she thought tackling paperwork would be a good way to distract her until she could think of another solution. No luck. It was only making her more frustrated than ever. She threw her pen down onto the ruined report and raised her gaze to the empty bullpen. 

All the other deputies had left ages ago. Even Nedley clocked out. Nicole was the only one in the darkened office, her desk lamp the only light on in the place. She groaned and rubbed the back of her neck, sore from being bent over for so long. It was probably long past time for her to head home. She was starting to follow a bit too closely in her dad’s footsteps for her taste.

Just as she was throwing away the torn report, Nicole heard the station doors clatter open, accompanied by a discussion.

“Do you really think she’s still here, Wynonna?”

“Oh, please. Miss Bona Fide is on a case and it's barely ten o’clock. She’ll be here,” Wynonna said as she rounded the corner into view of Nicole’s desk. Her eye instantly drawn to the light on Nicole’s desk, she continued talking, “ah! See, I told you. Hey, Nicole!” She waved. Nicole rubbed her tired eyes.

“Didn’t you just tell me you’d be out of town for a while? Or are you a late night hallucination on my part?” She asked.

“Yep and nope. It’s me, in the flesh.” She hopped the counter that separated the bullpen from the lobby with ease. Nicole couldn’t understand why she didn’t just use the door like a reasonable person. Like her companion was. Nicole blinked tiredly as she tried to place the woman. Oh, right. Wynonna’s sister, from earlier.

“Why?” Was the only way Nicole could articulate her thought process. She pointed first at Wynonna, then her sister as she repeated the question.

“Well, I’m here to take on that job you offered me. And since I promised you the collar, you’re coming with me. Waverly here is also in the family business and she’s going to tag along as my assistant,” Wynonna said.

“Hey!” The now identified Waverly protested. “I think if anything, you’re my assistant.”

“Hush now.” Wynonna waved a dismissive hand before turning back to Nicole. “You ready to go?”

“Right now?” Nicole asked. She glanced at her watch. It read 10:10. Knowing the time made a wave of exhaustion wash over her; she probably should have left the station hours ago. Feeling the weight in her eyelids, she looked up at the sisters. “Look, it’s been a long day and I need to get some sleep—”

“You can sleep when you’re dead. Or in the car on the way,” Wynonna said.

“And you think our perp won’t be asleep when we get there?” Nicole asked.

“She has a point,” Waverly agreed. She stared at Wynonna intensely and they seemed to have a silent conversation. It lasted only a few sentences before Wynonna heaved a sigh.

“Ugh, fine. We can meet back here in the morning, nine am sharp. We can carpool to the city.” Wynonna spun on her heel and strode out of the barn. “Oh, and make sure you each bring some snacks!” She shouted over her shoulder. Nicole blinked a few times, too sleep deprived to comprehend the hurricane that just swept in and out of the police station.

“You good to get home, or should I call you a cab?” Nicole looked over to Waverly, who had spoken up. “You look about dead on your feet.”

“Uh, no I’m fine, thank you,” Nicole said. She stared at Waverly until her manners caught up with her. “What am I thinking, I haven’t even properly introduced myself. I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.” She held out a hand.

“Waverly Earp.” She shook Nicole’s hand. Her skin was warm to the touch and Nicole couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face.

“Nice to officially meet you.”

“You too, Officer Haught.” Waverly enunciated her words carefully as she appraised Nicole with searching eyes. Was it Nicole’s imagination, or was she biting the corner of her lip? Nicole quickly let go of her hand and cleared her throat.

“Well, we have an early morning tomorrow,” she said. Waverly rolled her eyes.

“What do you think the chances are of Wynonna actually being on time?” Nicole was beginning to feel uncomfortable under Waverly’s stare. She shifted from foot to foot.

“I’m not really a betting woman.”

“Aw, no fun,” Waverly pouted. “That’s alright. We have all day tomorrow to discover that side of you.” She smiled deviously and backed out of the bullpen. “See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” Nicole waved weakly after her. As soon as Waverly was out of sight, Nicole felt the need to sit down. She fought it, though. If she sat again she wouldn’t be able to get back up. Damn her weak knees. They always buckled for pretty women.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how about that episode? I'm always a slut for a good wynaught brotp

“I thought we were taking my truck,” Wynonna said, looking incredibly unimpressed with the four-door jeep Waverly pulled up in. At one point, it was probably black, but the paint had long since worn off and rust took its place. The bumper — as well as the rest of the body — had taken more than its fair share of beatings. The metal was scraped and looked like it was twisted before being pounded back in shape. If the exterior looked this bad, Nicole didn’t want to imagine what was under the hood. “Is that thing even going to make it to Calgary?”

“If you want to sit next to some old dude named Malcolm Ramaker, be my guest. Even his name sounds rank. With four of us in the cab of your truck, I’d rather be in the bed. And that’s saying something,” Waverly said to Nicole. Nicole tore her apprehensive gaze away from the jeep.

“What about Nicole’s car?”

“If it’s a police cruiser, no way.” Waverly fixed her stare at Nicole. She shrugged, confirming that she would drive her cruiser. “He’d smell us coming miles away if we took a nark-mobile.”

“Wynonna does have a point about your car’s survivability, though,” Nicole said reluctantly. Waverly threw up her hands.

“This was the best I could do on short notice and a budget. If it breaks down you can say I told you so, but my guy said it would get us there and back.” She crossed her arms with a sense of finality. Nicole and Wynonna shared a look.

“She did bring the best snacks,” Nicole reasoned. Wynonna sighed heavily.

“Fine. I call shotgun.” She power walked to the door and yanked it open with a terrible shriek. “Coming?” She slid inside and chucked her black duffle bag into the backseat. Waverly moved to the driver's seat while Nicole got in behind Wynonna.

If Nicole thought she was prepared for a road trip with the Earp sisters, she was dead wrong. She’d known Wynonna long enough to think long and hard about getting into a car she was behind the wheel of, but she had no idea Waverly would be just as bad a driver. She drove at minimum ten miles over the speed limit and leapfrogged from lane to lane. Every time she cut someone off Nicole swore that was going to be the end of the banged-up jeep and its passengers. She would have passed out except for the fact that every time she closed her eyes she felt even sicker. She was only thankful it wasn’t winter and the roads weren’t slick.

Wynonna didn’t seem to have the same problem. She intermittently switched between fiddling with the radio and singing along with it, hanging her head out the window like a dog, or talking shit to Waverly about people Nicole never even heard of. Whenever she stuck her head out the window her hair streamed back and smacked against the glass of Nicole’s window. Nicole shared a look with Waverly in the rearview mirror. No matter how terrified Nicole was, Wynonna was at least an entertaining road trip companion. At least, for the first forty minutes. Nicole went back to wanting to die as Wynonna’s constant need for stimulation grew old. It was the longest two hours of her life until Waverly finally pulled off the highway.

“Nicole got a tip that our guy’s hiding out in one of these warehouses,” Wynonna said as Waverly eased the car into a parking spot. “Alright, who has quarters? Or can you give us a pass from the parking meter, Nicole?”

“We’re not in my jurisdiction.” Nicole finally eased an eye open as the car turned off. Waverly had parked at a meter outside of a small warehouse district. Though, small was relative. Her tip had sounded specific until she actually arrived at the place. Nicole could see at least twelve run-down buildings. It would take hours for the three of them to search through the whole district.

The Earps had already gotten out of the car and were huddled around the parking meter, so Nicole got out to join them. She dug in the pockets of her coat to contribute to the quarter fund. They racked up time until Wynonna got bored and called for a halt.

“Alright, what kind of weaponry we got?” She asked, pulling out her duffel bag. She didn’t have her Colt at her side, so her guns must have been in that duffel. From it, she withdrew what looked like a suped-up MAC-11, a boxy looking pistol, and a few slots of ammo for each of them. The pistol she shoved into a holster at her hip, and she inspected the safety on the MAC-11. She tucked the ammo into a pouch on her belt.

Nicole held up her own sleek pistol, though she hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. The only reason she was here was to provide supervision for the two bounty hunters. They were so far out of her jurisdiction she could get in huge trouble if this went wrong, as Nedley wouldn’t be able to protect her. She had ammo in her standard issue utility belt, the one part of her uniform she wore on this mission. She was packing only as a last resort. Wynonna nodded approvingly before they both looked at Waverly, who hadn’t moved at all and was standing with her hands in the pockets of the same pink jacket she was wearing yesterday.

“What?” She asked in response to the expectancy in their eyes.

“Where’s your weapon?” Nicole asked. Waverly took her hands from her pockets and curled them into fists. She held them up, examining them the same way Nicole and Wynonna examined their guns.

“These have always been weapon enough,” she said with a shrug. She looked back up at Nicole and Wynonna. From up close Nicole could see layers of scars across her knuckles but she was still skeptical.

“This guy is supposed to be pretty dangerous,” she said. Waverly rolled her eyes.

“I’m pretty good at punching things, Officer.” Nicole whipped her head around to see if anyone was around to hear that, so Wynonna beat her with a response.

“Someone needs to teach you what a real weapon is, dude,” she said. “Whatever, it’ll work for today. Now, let’s get in there and find our guy.”

“This place is huge, it’ll take forever to search,” Nicole said as she followed Wynonna to the nearest opening in the rusted chain-link fence.

“That’s why you brought us along,” Wynonna said. “Bounty hunters with killer instincts. Even if one of us doesn’t know what a real weapon is.” She nudged Waverly playfully. Waverly grinned and shoulder checked her in return, making Wynonna stagger. She caught herself before she went clattering into the fence and Waverly suppressed a giggle.

They slipped through the fence which led to an open street between the warehouses. There were six of the looming buildings on either side. All looked dark and abandoned. It gave Nicole the creeps, and she deferred to the Earps for a strategy.

“Fan out and search the grounds first. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find something out here,” Waverly said. “Haught, come with me.” She stalked over to the close side of the street while Wynonna went to the far side. Each sister walked silently, gracefully, like hunters on a mission, Wynonna with her MAC-11 and Waverly with her clenched fists. Nicole did her best to keep up with the quick but silent pace they were setting.

Even with her best effort, she and Waverly lagged behind Wynonna, who was at the door of the fourth building on her side when they reached the third. As soon as she did, she stiffened, then glanced over her shoulder.

“Someone’s in here, I’m going to check it out,” she hissed so quietly Nicole could barely hear her.

“Wynonna, wait for—” Waverly snapped her mouth shut as Wynonna disappeared into the warehouse. “Dammit. Come on, we better go make sure she doesn’t get jumped.” Waverly jogged over to the building with Nicole hot on her heels.

Nicole didn’t see any obvious signs of habitation on the outside of this one compared to the others but Wynonna could have noticed something she didn’t. She and Waverly stood on either side of the door listening for any commotion inside. When they heard nothing, Waverly eased the door open enough for them to slip inside. She shut it quietly behind them, and the only light shone through the dirty glass of the too few windows. Nicole could barely see anything.

“Should we call out for her?” Nicole asked.

“Absolutely not. We’ll follow her footsteps, quietly.” Waverly pointed to a worn path in the dust that led to the left. The hallway to the right was undisturbed. So the building was inhabited, and by someone of habit, it seemed. Nicole let Waverly take the lead, though she was less quiet than she was outside seeing as she was muttering about ‘working together’ and a ‘stupid, prideful lone wolf’. Nicole didn’t have to guess who she was talking about.

They didn’t travel very far into the warehouse before the hallway took a sharp right. Waverly held up a hand to stop Nicole in her tracks, then pressed herself against the wall. Nicole followed her lead, her hands resting against the splintery wood. Waverly leaned forward to peek around the corner. However, no sooner than they hid did they hear distant shouting and, much closer, running footsteps. Nicole’s eyes widened, trying to see in the dim light when all of a sudden Waverly stepped forward with a yell and clotheslined someone trying to run around the corner. He slammed into her outstretched arm, then crumpled to the floor in a heap.

“Woah,” Nicole breathed as Waverly shook out her arm without taking her eyes off her victim. She could see why Waverly put faith in her fists, now.

“You got him!” Wynonna panted. “Nice one.” Nicole stepped out from behind Waverly to see Wynonna running towards them down the hall. Her hair was covered in dust and splintered wood. Obviously whoever was she was chasing got the drop on her, giving him a head start. She skidded to a halt beside them as Nicole examined the guy on the floor. She couldn’t hold back a gasp as she recognized the long greasy hair and a scruffy beard.

“It’s him! Malcolm,” she said. “This is our guy! And you knocked him out, wow.”

“See? Told you we’re professionals,” Wynonna said, still out of breath. “And that way we don’t have to read him his rights.”

“Do you have any handcuffs?” Waverly asked. The grin dropped off Wynonna’s face.

“I thought you or Haught were bringing them.”

“I certainly didn’t.”

“Nope.” Wynonna groaned.

“I brought duct tape, though. It’s in the car,” Waverly said.

“Good enough. You get Malcolm to the car, Haught and I can retrieve the stuff he stole. And yeah, I found that, too,” Wynonna said triumphantly.

Nicole stepped over Malcolm’s body, a little confused on how Waverly was going to get a full grown man back to the car by herself. She wasn’t going to question her, especially after watching how she took him down. Waverly grabbed his arms and started dragging him backward without breaking a sweat.

“Alright, show me what you got, Wynonna,” Nicole said as she watched Waverly.

“Ugh, don’t be gross.” Wynonna grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her down the hallway. “Get moving. Go. Quit ogling my sister.”

“Alright, alright. I’m going.” Nicole ripped her arm out of Wynonna’s grip. “And I was not ogling.”

“Uh huh, sure you weren’t.”

* * *

 

Two in the afternoon wasn’t a great time for business at Shorty’s, but it was a good time to call on a favorite uncle’s connections. Waverly had never been into Purgatory before, so she was glad he was a well-liked figure in their overarching community. Gods knew her father wasn’t. Shorty’s was a nightclub née bar that was the hub of all the nightlife in Purgatory. Granted, it catered to supernatural creatures who were mostly nocturnal, so there was a reason it was practically abandoned in the middle of the day. It was a shithole, but it was a safe shithole. A pillar in a community that had very few. Curtis had been good friends with the owner, a faun named Shorty who Waverly was currently talking to.

“Well, we’re always short on waitstaff, and we seem to go through bouncers like nobody’s business,” Shorty said as he leaned his elbows on the bar. “We have a few positions open right now. But I can’t afford to hire your whole pack. This place always does well, and I got to keep it that way, ya know?”

“I appreciate anything you have for us, Shorty. You know how hard it is for us to find work. You’re doing right by Curtis’ memory,” Waverly said. “How many positions do you have open?”

“I’ll hire two o’ ya.” Waverly’s heart sank. Not exactly the number she was looking for.

“I was hoping you could take on a couple more than that,” she said slowly.

“I’ll consider it if your people do good work for me. Ya ain’t known around these parts, gotta ease in unfamiliar faces.” Waverly bit her lip as she considered the offer.

“So long as they start as soon as possible and you can meet my requested wages.”

“They can start tonight.” Shorty stood up and extended a meaty hand for Waverly to shake. She took it. “You’re a fine young woman, Waverly Earp. Any pack o’ yours is welcome in the city.”

“Thank you.” Waverly refrained from mentioning the Ghost River Pack soon wouldn’t be hers to lead. She could do this much for them, at least. Get them started in the city so they could have time to regroup. The most dangerous thing about Purgatory that kept some supernatural creatures away was the openness, how they were all one slip up away from exposing the whole community to the world. That was the one rule everyone, no matter how chaotic or evil followed. The rule of secrecy. Along with blood oaths, it was pretty much the only thing any of them could count on.

It was the one reason the Devil’s Triangle Pack wouldn’t dare follow them here. A pack war in the middle of the city was bound to break the rule of secrecy. Waverly would take the many dangers of the city over remaining exposed to their rivals any day. Many others felt the same way, so they flocked to human cities as well. It was the reason Purgatory had such an established and diverse supernatural community — destroying your enemies would bring the wrath of humans down on them all, and they were too few to survive another purge.

Waverly said her goodbyes to Shorty and made her way out of the double set of doors that kept the interior of the building dark. She blinked and let her eyes adjust to the daylight.

“How’d it go in there?” Waverly turned her head toward Wynonna, who was leaning against the building just right of the doors. She lurched upright as Waverly walked over to her.

“The optimist in me is disappointed, but the realist in me is satisfied,” Waverly said. “I hope this will help establish ourselves in Purgatory.” That was the pack’s current problem. Everyone but Gus and Curtis joined during an era of isolation. They weren’t known by the community in Purgatory, even though Waverly was doing her damnedest to fix that. “You dropped off the horn, right?”

“Yep. The Blacksmith said she’d get right to work researching how to restore magic items. Bet that got us major kudos from the community,” Wynonna said.

“The Blacksmith is a powerful ally.” Waverly nodded. “This is good. We can’t keep relying on a dead man for our reputation forever.” It had been a pain in the ass to hide that horn from Nicole on the way back, but they had managed quite well. Waverly was glad their mission went off so smoothly.

“And Gus is...well, I guess I’ll see soon, huh?” Wynonna stared at the tips of her boots.

“Keep your chin up,” Waverly barked. Wynonna flinched and followed her order. “Shoulders back. You need to project confidence if they’re going to accept your leadership. That means no more wallowing. Make the pack care about who you are now rather than who you were then.”

“Alright, Curtis,” Wynonna snapped. “You lead your way, I’ll lead mine. And besides, weren’t you the one who came crawling to me for help?” Waverly ducked her head to hide a secret smile. Consciously or not, Wynonna was responding to Waverly undermining her authority, and she was responding perfectly. It took months for Waverly to train herself to act that way, the fact that Wynonna did it naturally only further proved that she was the true alpha of the Ghost River Pack.

“I did. Now come on, I’ll show you to the safe house,” Waverly said. “Where’s your truck?”

“Round back.” Wynonna jerked her head in its direction, then trotted off. Waverly followed on her heels. She needed to practice her subservience if the pack was going to respect Wynonna. Three years was a long time for her to exert influence and wheedle the pack into obeying her. The whole pack developed habits they would have to break, and it would have to start with Waverly.

“So, what can I expect? Hostility, reverence?” Wynonna asked once they got in the truck. She twisted the key in the ignition and it started up with a roar.

“Honestly, I’m not quite sure. They’re pretty beaten down, so you’ll probably have to tiptoe around whatever pride is left,” Waverly said.

She spent the rest of the drive intermittently coaching Wynonna on the current dynamics of the pack and tossing out directions to the safehouse. It wasn’t even a long drive but it was long enough that Waverly could sense a change in her sister’s demeanor. It was as if proximity to the pack was nudging Wynonna toward the person she would have been had she stayed. The true alpha of the Ghost River Pack.

“Let me get out first to soften them up a bit,” Waverly said as Wynonna pulled up next to their safehouse. Wynonna nodded, too tense to come up with a witty response. She tapped the steering wheel with her thumbs with nervous energy. Her nostrils flared as Waverly opened her door, sending the scent of the pack flooding into the truck. Waverly saw her shiver and sent up a prayer that this would go well.

“That you, Waverly?” Someone she couldn’t see asked as she took a step onto the porch. She looked around and caught a glimpse of the brim of a cowboy hat peeking out from around the corner.

“Yeah, it’s all good, Doc,” she said. Slowly he rounded the corner, keeping his face downturned so it was hidden by the brim of his hat. He had one hand beneath his coat, where he was no doubt gripping a pistol. Had he been in four-legged form, Waverly had no doubt that his hackles would be raised. Guard duty sucked ass and put whoever was on it on edge, but for now, the pack had to have someone keeping watch. “I brought an old friend with me.” Doc lifted his gaze, revealing his unusually hollowed face. A long scratch grazed his left cheek. Though it was nearly healed, Waverly couldn’t help but think of it when it was fresh and exposed his cheek all the way to the bone.

“Well, bring her out,” Doc raised his voice so Wynonna could hear him. Waverly listened to the truck door open and slam, and Wynonna’s boots crunch gravel, then wood as she approached.

“Hey, Doc. Long time no see,” she said. Waverly didn’t turn around to see the expression on her face but the one Doc had was tale enough.

“Well I’ll be damned,” he muttered. “The wandering wolf has finally returned to her pack.” He stepped around Waverly and appraised Wynonna, and Waverly finally turned so she could see both of them. “You could not have decided to return at a more opportune moment.”

“Decided is relative,” Wynonna said. “Heard about what happened at the Homestead. I’m glad you made it out.”

“Not all of us did,” Doc said, his voice dry and accusatory. Waverly winced, though the barb was pretty well deserved. “Though I am glad that you weren’t there, I am gladder still to see you.” He stepped forward to pull Wynonna into a tight hug. She resisted for half a moment before returning it, burying her nose in Doc’s shoulder. Waverly felt very much a bystander in an otherwise private moment and braced herself for Wynonna’s reunion with the rest of the pack. It was sure to be much more painful than this.

“God, I can’t wait to hear about all the trouble you’ve gotten yourself into, Old Man,” Wynonna said, finally releasing him.

“I can’t wait to hear about the trouble you’ve made for yourself,” Doc said. He glanced at Waverly. “Though, I suppose I shouldn’t be selfish. The others are sure to be wondering what the commotion is.”

“I found some work for us, too,” Waverly said.

“Wonderful. Well done, Waverly.” Doc’s eyes twinkled and Waverly felt a surge of relief. Even with Wynonna’s return, this was still her pack. She wasn’t being replaced, her job was only changing a little. Doc’s support meant a lot, both personally and when it came to his influence within the pack. With that thought to bolster her, she followed Wynonna and Doc inside.

* * *

 

After bringing in Malcolm and his stolen items, Nicole received a hero’s welcome from Nedley. She got the collar and she got Judge Cryderman off his back. Nedley all but promised commendation from the mayor. Nicole spluttered her way through reciting that she was only doing her job. Nedley still gave her a pat on the back and the rest of the day off, which Nicole didn’t think she deserved. She still had all the leftover nervous energy from a bust, and on this particular one, she didn’t really have to do anything but listen to Wynonna’s terrible singing and fork over more than her fair share of the car snacks. Trying to ignore the fact that they had a person in the trunk wasn’t helping, either.

What better way to deal with all that energy than going for a run? Though it was later in the day when the idea popped into her head, Nicole still had plenty of time before it was dark out. She threw on her cold weather work out clothes and laced up her sneakers. It had been a while since she’d gone out, she was so swamped with casework. The burn from exertion and the cooler air would feel good.

Nicole’s running route took her through a park that was near her house. There were gravel paths all throughout it, and it was never very crowded. Nicole found it to be a great place to be outside and turn off her thoughts for a little while. They dissipated as fast as her breath and only because she was feeling it leave her body did Nicole realize how stressed she was about the Ramaker case. With the case over she could finally let go of those stresses in the empty park. All there was here was the pounding of her feet, the crunch of gravel, and the familiar burn in her lungs.

Although, the park wasn’t completely empty. Nicole crested the rise of a hill and halted in her tracks as she saw a familiar figure settling on a bench at the bottom of it. Waverly Earp was rolling up her pink jacket into a tight ball. She was wearing a more substantial sweater than the crop top she had on yesterday, and as Nicole watched she stretched out across the bench, using her jacket as a pillow. She didn't seem to be bothered one bit by the chill. Intrigued, Nicole jogged up to her.

“Hey stranger,” she panted. Waverly cracked open an eye.

“Hello, Officer Haught. We just keep bumping into each other, don’t we?” She laced her fingers together and placed her hands behind her head to have a more comfortable angle to look at Nicole while laying on the bench. Nicole noticed a backpack tucked underneath it.

“That we do,” she said. “It’s getting a little late, what are you doing out here?”

“What are you doing out here?” Waverly shot back. Nicole looked down at her outfit.

“I’m on a run.” She felt stupid saying it, for some reason. Waverly nodded in approval.

“I knew sitting behind a desk all day wasn’t what made you so fit,” she said. She closed her eye and let her head fall back against her makeshift pillow, not removing her hands from behind her head. Nicole was glad she wasn’t looking because she flushed bright red at the compliment.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” she said instead of addressing the point of her embarrassment.

“I’m sleeping here tonight,” Waverly said, as casually as if she said she ate waffles for breakfast. Nicole was baffled, though it would explain the backpack and why Waverly seemed to be making herself comfortable.

“You know I could arrest you for that,” Nicole said. “Anti-camping laws, and all.” She winced at how uncool she sounded.

“Mmm, nope.” Waverly shook her head. “Look at the plaque on the bench.” Nicole moved around to the back of the bench to find an old brass plate screwed to the top slat. _This bench was donated by Edwin Earp_ , it read. “My grandfather bought and donated it. Technically, that means I’m not breaking any laws so long as I’m on this bench.” Nicole frowned at that logic, though she couldn’t find any flaw in it.

“Ok, that’s fair. But why are you sleeping here? It can’t be very comfortable,” she said.

“I’m trying to reintroduce Wynonna to the family, and I don’t want to step on any toes. Politics are pretty complicated for us,” Waverly said. “It’s better if I make myself scarce for now. And I don’t mind roughing it.” Her eyes opened and Nicole could see the wistfulness in them. Along with her scrunched together eyebrows, Waverly was practically the picture of misery. She knew Waverly didn’t want her pity but Nicole couldn’t help it from rising within her.

“Still, it’s supposed to be pretty cold tonight,” she said slowly. “I know we kinda just met and all, but do you want a place to crash for the night? My couch might not be a feather mattress, but it’s probably better than sleeping on that bench.”

“Officer Haught, are you propositioning me?” Waverly said playfully as she placed a dramatic hand over her heart. “Really, it’s fine. I wouldn’t want to impose. Plus, like you said, we only just met yesterday.” Her hand dropped to her side as Nicole considered it, doing her best to ignore the teasing.

“Weirdly, I trust you. And I know your sister is cool,” Nicole said. “And besides, you may have taken Malcolm Ramaker out with one hit, but I’m no slouch. I bet I could take you if you tried to kill me in my sleep.” Two could play at the game Waverly was enjoying. Even if one of them was a little late to the start. And a terrible player to begin with. Waverly laughed out loud at her words. She laughed so hard broke down into coughing and had to sit up to clear her airway.

“You’re very entertaining. A nice change of pace from my doom and gloom family,” she said when the coughing subsided. Nicole didn’t know whether it was a compliment or not. “Thanks for the offer. I think I’ll take it.” Waverly reached under the seat and grabbed her backpack. Nicole walked around the bench as she stood up and shrugged on her jacket.

“Cool. Don’t want you freezing out here, am I right?” Waverly gave her a questioning look but she smiled all the same.

“Sure, Officer Haught.”

“Hey, if you’re crashing on my couch, call me Nicole,” she said. Waverly’s smile grew softer, more thoughtful.

“Alright. Nicole. Lead the way.”

* * *

 

Nicole’s house was barely a ten-minute walk from the park. She led Waverly into suburbs she vaguely recognized. Waverly was familiar with Nicole’s house since she was the first human she saw when the pack came to Purgatory. Still, the suburbs looked a lot different in the dark. And without people wandering around them.

They passed Nicole’s neighbor’s house with the two dogs. Waverly remembered them challenging Jeremy as he went to inspect their scent. They were happy to pick on a single wolf until the rest of the pack arrived and they revealed themselves to be quivering lap dogs. Since Waverly was alone they were back to their aggressive barking. They recognized her scent, though her form probably confused them. Waverly bared her teeth when she was sure Nicole wasn’t looking. She wasn’t scared of these measly pups.

“Sorry about the dogs, they’re not usually so aggressive,” Nicole said as she held open the gate of her own fence for Waverly. “They pretty much only bark at strays. Though a whole pack of them gave them a scare the other night,” she said thoughtfully.

“Really? I would have liked to see that.” Nicole gave her a questioning look. “They’re bullies, and I don’t like bullies.”

“A better description of them there never was,” Nicole said. She seemed lost in thought for a moment before she shoved her hand into her pocket to fish out her keys.

Inside Nicole’s house was warm, welcoming. The setting sun sent warm red light shining through the front windows, its rays stretching out along dark hardwood flooring. The entryway led directly into a den, and Waverly saw a kitchen as she peered around the corner. Yes, Waverly would much prefer to spend the night in her two-legged form in a warm, safe house than in the middle of a cold, lonely park. Plus getting to know Nicole a little would help Waverly decide if she was a threat to the pack or not. If she wasn’t, being friendly with a police deputy would be a huge benefit for the pack.

“I can take your jacket,” Nicole said, interrupting Waverly’s examination of her home. She had her own laid over one arm. Waverly handed her jacket to Nicole, who hung them both up on a coat rack just inside the door. “Make yourself at home.” She flipped on the overhead light, and though it wasn’t necessary right away the light was quickly fading.

“Thanks,” Waverly said. She wandered further into the den, running her hand along the back of the couch. The floorboards squeaked slightly under her footsteps, though only Waverly seemed to hear it. There was a bookcase against the rightmost wall that caught Waverly’s interest. Two of the six shelves held a series of framed pictures. She moved closer to get a better look. Her hand rested against the shelf and Waverly flinched when something burned it. 

A knife lay flat on the shelf, flat so Waverly didn't notice it at first. She winced and rubbed the red mark on her hand. She was lucky she didn’t cut herself, especially if she had such a reaction to merely touching the metal.

“Sorry, did you nick yourself?” Nicole asked. “I should have warned you about that, it’s very sharp.”

“I should have paid more attention,” Waverly said, still staring at the knife and wondering what it said about Nicole that she kept it on display. With her reaction, there was only one thing it could have been made of. “Is this silver?”

“My dad said it was. He gave it to me when I moved to Purgatory, said I should protect myself. Even though I have a better weapon.” She hung up her holster on the extra hanger of the coat rack.

That explained her reaction, at least. Waverly was doubly glad she didn’t cut herself. Getting silver in her blood would have caused a much worse reaction. She had to be more careful as she continued to examine the shelf.

The most interesting was older and slightly blurry. It showed a man surrounded by three children sitting on the same couch as the one in Nicole’s den. All of them had red hair, though the two youngest children were more blonde than red. All four people in the photo were clearly related. The youngest was laying across the man’s lap, her face frozen in laughter. The oldest was was squabbling with the middle child on the couch next to the man, though they both flashed grins of innocence for the camera. Waverly felt a faint pang of longing. There were times she wished she grew up in a family like this.

“Which one are you?” Waverly asked, pointing to the picture. Nicole strode over to see which picture she was talking about.

“Ah, that one.” She pointed to the middle child who was belly down on the couch and being sat on by the oldest. “My brother Joey was always making sure I knew how to fight. I think we were seven and eight in that picture. That’s my sister, Danny. She’s four here. Always loved sitting on my dad’s lap.” It was faint, but her tone became wistful when she mentioned her dad. Waverly took that to mean he wasn’t with them anymore.

“You look happy. Well, I mean not you because you’re being sat on, but I mean in general,” Waverly said.

“Yeah. This picture was on practically every Christmas card until I moved out,” Nicole said. “It’s a family favorite. Good eye.” Waverly smiled and ducked her head. She went back to staring at Nicole’s dad, trying to memorize his appearance like she always did with photographs of dead people. “What about you? You’re younger than Wynonna, right?”

“Six years younger,” Waverly said. She rested her fingertips on the edge of the shelf. “And we had an older sister, Willa. She was a year older than Wynonna.” She winced as her tone plummeted the mood faster than fire did the Hindenburg.

“Do you have any family famous pictures like this?” Nicole asked. Waverly sighed in relief as she quickly moved past it. “I know this one helps me remember my dad. Maybe you have one to remember her.”

“We weren’t exactly a photogenic family,” Waverly started, “but I do have one of the three of us.” She refrained from mentioning that she had been cropped out of it. It was in her backpack, pressed within the pages of an old journal she carried with her at all times.

“That’s nice,” Nicole said. Waverly’s mind lept to everything that Willa could have been, and she was sure Nicole was thinking about her dad. They were quiet for a few moments until Nicole cleared her throat. “Um, I can make dinner but to be perfectly honest I was just going to order takeout and watch a movie tonight.”

“Don’t let me disrupt your plans.” Waverly held up her hands. “I can see what’s on tv.”

“Go ahead.” Nicole pulled out her phone and dialed the number. “Remote’s on the table. Is Thai food ok?”

“Sounds great. I could eat a horse,” Waverly chuckled and got a smile out of Nicole, who didn’t know she was serious. Not that Waverly would ever eat a horse. Probably.

She settled on the couch, dropping her backpack at her feet, and grabbed the remote to flip through movie channels. Nicole half watched over her shoulder to give her input. Waverly flipped through half a dozen movies. She quickly skipped a Disney channel movie about werewolves, hoping Nicole didn’t catch it. She wasn’t in the mood to watch wildly false stories about her kind. Finally, Nicole tapped her shoulder rapidly when she changed the channel to an older horror movie that was only just beginning. The screen flashed its title; Frankenstein.

“Can we watch this one?” She stage whispered, placing her hand over her phone’s speaker.

“Yeah, sure,” Waverly said. She wasn’t a huge fan of horror movies — her own life was enough of one — but the grin on Nicole’s face when she agreed was worth it. She paused it while Nicole finished ordering, only resuming it when Nicole sat next to her on the couch.

“Thanks for watching this. My dad loved old horror movies and you caught me in a nostalgic mood,” Nicole said.

“Yeah, no problem.” At least Waverly had little to no experience with the reanimated dead. Frankenstein was about as removed from her own life as horror movies could get. She was happy to indulge in sentiment for Nicole’s sake. Besides, it was fun to make fun of the terribly cheesy movie with her. When their food arrived, the movie faded away into the background, lost to the conversation over their meal. Somehow they avoided all mentions of work, making the night feel even more casual. It almost felt like a real girls’ night, something Waverly longed to participate in since she was small. She scarfed down Pad Thai like there was no tomorrow and found herself coughing more than once as she laughed with her mouth full at something Nicole had to say.

The credits of the movie rolled and Waverly barely noticed. Only when she glanced down at her phone and saw it was nearly midnight did she even realize that her goal of determining whether Nicole was a threat or not had fallen by the wayside. She hadn’t asked one nonchalant question about large, unusual stray dogs the whole night. Waverly still felt wide awake, though she noticed Nicole’s eyelids drooping. She probably didn’t want to be rude by turning in too early, though Waverly was sure she had lost track of time as well. Waverly let out a well-acted yawn.

“Well, I’m completely beat.” She rubbed her hands on her lap habitually. “As much as you’re a wonderful host, I’d feel guilty if I kept you up any later than it already is.” Nicole glanced down at her watch, noticing for the first time the late hour.

“Oh, gosh I didn’t even realize it was so late,” she said. “Let me go get you a blanket and some sheets, then we can clean up these containers.” She gestured to the empty takeout boxes they stacked on the coffee table before standing and making her way up the stairs.

Waverly took the boxes into the kitchen and folded them flat to fit in the recycling while she waited. Nicole didn’t take long returning with a blue and green quilt, a balled up sheet, and a pillow, which she threw onto the couch when she saw Waverly standing in the kitchen.

“I’ve got these,” she said, picking up the flattened boxes from Waverly’s arms. She used her foot to open a cupboard next to the fridge and dumped them into the recycling.

“I just don’t want you thinking I’m a freeloader,” Waverly said.

“Of course not. You make lovely company,” Nicole said with a tired grin. It was interrupted by a huge yawn, however. “Sorry about that. There’s a bathroom over there if you need it. I have work tomorrow, so I’m going to hit the hay. Thanks for hanging out with me tonight. I had fun.”

“Me too. Thanks for letting me crash on your couch.” Waverly chuckled at Nicole’s over appreciativeness. She walked over to said couch and began spreading out the sheet and quilt. Nicole followed her over and helped her with the heavy quilt.

“Goodnight, Waverly. Sleep well,” she said when she finally went to turn in.

“Goodnight, Nicole,” Waverly said softly. She couldn’t help her smile as she settled under her makeshift covers. What she thought was going to be a cold and miserable night spent on a bench in a park turned out to be one spent on a comfortable couch with fresh smelling sheets. She might have even made a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate the support. If you want to come yell at me about this, I'm thecarlonethatalsowrites on tumblr


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready yall, this one's a doozy. We've got werewolf shenanigans, wayhaught, plot shit, you name it.

Dolls tugged at the collar of his new uniform uncomfortably. “I mean, come on. Don’t you think this is a little...close fitting?”

“It’s...very tailored.” Waverly had to admit he had a point, only she kept it to herself. She couldn’t ruin Dolls’ confidence on their first day. His black t-shirt was so form fitting it looked painted on. It was made of cheap material that wouldn’t breathe well, and it looked like he would tear it open if he flexed. Not that it wasn’t flattering to his already impressive muscles. “Besides, it’s not like I’m any better off.” She looked down at her own tight shirt with Shorty’s written across the front.

“You _like_ crop tops, though,” Dolls protested. “I’m more of a...well I don’t know, but it’s definitely not this.” He let go of the collar and it snapped back into place against his neck.

“Leave it to a faun to pick uniforms that accent his employee’s boobs.” Waverly poked Dolls in the pec. He slapped her hand away with a playful growl.

“If that’s the case, you could have asked Rosita to take a job here,” Dolls said.

“Yeah, maybe,” Waverly said, even though they both knew that she and Dolls were the best people for the job. They were in the same boat — it was best for pack dynamics if they kept their distance. Waverly couldn’t be there to detract from Wynonna’s leadership and Dolls couldn’t because of the distraction of an old flame. Not to mention that tensions would be even higher between him and Doc, which was something a new alpha definitely didn’t need. At least he wasn’t in total exile like Waverly and got to stay at the safe house with the rest of the pack at night.

“Well, we better get in there,” Dolls said, sensing the mood drop in the car. “We’re still trying to make a good impression on the boss man, and being late during our first week isn’t a great way to start.” He popped open the passenger door and looked back at Waverly. She pulled the keys from the ignition with a sigh and stepped out of the rustbucket she scrounged up for them. She would fight the oncoming melancholy with physical action.

They entered through the back of the nightclub. It had a similar double door system as the front and Waverly was glad even in two-legged form she had keen night vision. There was artificial lighting around the bar and the dancefloor, but very little in the back hallways and storage area.

Dolls gave her shoulder a squeeze as they stepped into the main area of Shorty’s. The music was already throbbing and the lights flashing even though it was barely dusk. The supernatural underground of Purgatory knew how to party, and they went hard. Dolls slipped off into the crowd that had already formed, making his way to the front where the head bouncer would tell him where he was positioned for the night. Waverly had a much shorter distance to travel to the bar. She waved to the other barmaid, a blonde haired Nix called Steph. She was already behind the counter, using her powers to guide the stream from a tap into two glasses. She rolled her eyes at Waverly.

“About time you got here. I can’t water all these customers myself,” she snapped.

“Technically I don’t think we water anyone.” Waverly nodded to the three drinks Steph was clutching. Two were definitely alcohol and the third smelled strongly of gasoline. Steph scoffed.

“Whatever. Just go take care of them.” She jerked her head at a man and a woman that were waiting on the other side of the bar. Waverly forced herself to smile at her rudeness before turning to the pair.

“Hi, what would you like?” She asked. The two were very obviously inhuman, with their yellow, reptilian eyes. The woman stuck out her tongue in concentration and Waverly could see it was forked.

“Two bourbonsss, pleassse,” the man said.

“Coming right up.” Waverly set to fixing the drinks and the man plopped down a bill on the bar.

Bartending at a supernatural cultural hub was interesting, to say the least. Waverly’s research covered many different species, but she had never seen or known anything other than werewolves. Here she encountered individuals even she’d never heard of, which was saying something considering the extent of her passion. She tried not to think of this as field research, knowing how much she herself hated to feel like an exhibition, but it was very difficult not to file away mental notes. Even if those were observations on what seemed to be the preference of drinks based on species.

As she worked, Waverly did her best to keep an eye out for Dolls, something that was rather tricky when a drunken minotaur was in her face demanding another drink, even though she cut him off half an hour ago. Despite the variety of scents mingling in the air and the distractions of bartending, her packmate’s called to her as strongly as she assumed hers was to him. Tonight Dolls was stationary at the edge of the dance floor, ready to step in if anything got out of hand. He lived up to his name, as he looked stoic and unmoved by the energy in the room. Whenever Waverly got the chance she’d meet his gaze to check in, fitting an entire conversation into a blink and a nod. It was reassuring to have someone she knew in this unfamiliar environment.

Which was why when she glanced over and Dolls wasn’t where he had been all night, Waverly gulped. She was suddenly very nervous for no particular reason, especially when she scanned the crowd and didn’t see him immediately. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as the feeling something bad was about to happen intensified. She finally spotted him pushing his way through the dance floor, intent on something near the middle. Waverly’s eyes traced his path and she gasped when she saw curling horns standing out above the crowd.

The minotaur from earlier was chest to chest with another dude who was a foot shorter than him, though equally as beefy. While the minotaur had his back to her, Waverly could see the furious expression on the other guy. He bared a set of yellow, pointed teeth as he spat something that was probably offensive. The minotaur roared so loudly Waverly could hear it from across the room. The music cut off and the people around them scattered. Some rushed for the door, screaming, others formed a large ring and were egging on a fight. The minotaur drew back his fist to throw a punch just as Dolls reached them. He placed a hand on the minotaur’s shoulder, having to reach up to do so. He spoke a few rapid words only to have a puff of air snorted into his face and the minotaur turn back to tooth guy.

“Hey, man, I promise you don’t want to do this,” Dolls said, louder this time. He jerked his head in the direction of two more bouncers heading towards the circle. “Don’t cause a scene that’ll ruin things for yourself and the rest of us.” The minotaur finally glanced down at Dolls. The fury in his eyes was clear as day. However, Dolls’ words seemed to calm him down enough to not fight his forced escort out of the club. Toothy guy looked smug for a few moments before the bouncers came back for him, too. Waverly thought he was going to cause another scene before he acquiesced to being lead out. He kept his gaze stuck to the floor, though Waverly could see he was still seething.

Waverly let out a sigh of relief. That could have ended much worse than it did, and Dolls would have been caught in the middle of it. She caught Dolls’ gaze through the crowd and they exchanged a look. Reality was starting to sink in for them. While Purgatory seemed to be a melting pot of all kinds of creatures on the surface, deep down old tensions and rivalries still held sway just like in the rest of the world. It was better disguised here, sure, but the veil of civility only went so far. The pack — as individuals and as a whole — would be better off avoiding stepping on anyone’s toes, a fact which was only reaffirmed in their minds after tonight’s altercation. Waverly hoped an account from Dolls would be enough to encourage Wynonna to be careful, but knowing her sister, Wynonna would have to experience it for herself. Until then, Waverly would be extremely nervous for the pack’s place in the city, and ready to do anything to rectify any situation intentional or otherwise they may find themselves in.

* * *

 

There were some aspects of city life that agreed quite well with Waverly. The fact that she was able to continue her research up close and that the pack was no longer under constant threat of attack allowed Waverly to relax somewhat. She embraced her longing for something other than animalistic trivialities, her longing for a normal life. In Purgatory, she could live as close to normal as possible without giving up her fascination of otherworldly powers.

In other ways, Purgatory was suffocating. She understood why certain beings with little control of their powers avoided the city at all costs. Passing for a human was exhausting, and with two weeks of not being able to Change Waverly desperately felt the need to do so quite literally crawling under her skin. The whole pack had to limit themselves so as not to draw unwanted attention. Waverly figured she could wait, let the other, more unruly members of the pack let loose. But it was getting to the point where she could barely focus. She was dangerously close to the point of no return.

She thought her immersion with humans would help quell the urge. Unfortunately, she’d underestimated the emotional effect they would have on her, as well as the stress of her job. Not to mention that when she took down Malcolm Ramaker she had to tap into the darkest side of herself. That only brought it closer to the surface, making the itch even worse. Waverly desperately needed a change into her four-legged form before something much, much worse took over.

Which is how she found herself going for a mindless jog in an attempt to relieve some of the tension. Instead, she wound up several miles outside the city. She blinked back to awareness as leaves crunched beneath her feet, finding herself amongst unfamiliar straight trunked trees. If she focused, she could still hear the sounds of the city; she wasn’t lost in any way. This was as clear a message as any from her subconscious, the beast within. _Let me out, or I’ll let myself out_.

Waverly shook herself. It wasn’t her turn to change yet. In the interest of staying hidden, the whole pack had agreed to limit themselves in regards to their Changes. They would shift as necessary, not a second longer. Her insides were in turmoil as her need to follow the wishes of the pack wrestled with her yearning to run free. As if to counter that, she stood stock still in the forest, barely paying attention to the sounds and scents around her.

The problem was that she had logic on both sides of her inner argument. She was in a kind of temporary exile from the pack and didn’t technically have to follow their ruling. Yet going against them would only extend her separation, perhaps even permanently. On the other hand, the longer she held herself back the higher the probability she would unleash herself amongst the humans, exposing not only herself but the entire community would only increase. She could probably contain herself until her designated turn came around. Probably. Then again, if _she_ lost control there would potentially be more consequences, more casualties, than if someone else from the pack did.

That thought right there stopped her inner debate in its tracks. To lose control would be to take an innocent life, perhaps even several. Waverly refused to become the monster her genetics said she was. She began stripping off her clothes right then and there, finally having enough weight on one side of the argument for her to make a decision. She would Change to service the long game, even if it meant short-term consequences for herself.

As soon as she had that thought, the burning pain that accompanied the Change tore through her body. She barely managed to disrobe by the time her golden furred paws hit the earth. She snuffled with her wolf-like snout as a host of new aromas flooded her olfactory senses. Her sense of smell was good in two-leg form; it was unparalleled when she had four.

The leaves beneath her paws were slippery, and she shoved them aside to access the dirt below. Real, fresh dirt. Somehow it always felt more natural in this form. She massaged her paws into the soil, feeling rejuvenation from the earth itself. She let the feeling wash over her before she dug her claws into the ground, bunched her muscles and sprang forward, unleashing her power. She landed surely even though the litter was slick, and she barely touched the ground before leaping once again, this time at a leaf flitting toward the ground.

Catching it between her paws, she raced back to the earth much faster than the leaf. It barely took a thought for her to pin it beneath her. Waverly dropped to the ground, rolling and kicking up dead leaves and bits of dirt. She heard birds squawk in alarm at the sudden appearance of a golden wolf. It made her grin, a horrible and toothy one, but grin all the same. This was power. Not being in charge of some pack. Not even the temptation that constantly taunted her. This was the freedom to do whatever she wanted, to test the limits of her powerful body.

Waverly twisted suddenly, getting her paws beneath her and springing to her feet. She took off in a run, deft paws avoiding tree roots that seemed to rise from the earth to trip her up. She weaved through trees, snapping at low branches that got in her way as she made her way through the forest in her powerful body.

The exertion from running wasn’t mentally challenging, so Waverly let her mind wander as she instinctively wove a path through the trees. Normally she never itched to Change so badly in such a short time, especially after spending as long as she did with four legs during the journey to Purgatory. Drawing power from her feral side did make the itch worse, but usually only for a few days before she got it back under control. Was it that she wasn’t doing such physically strenuous work in the city compared to at the Homestead? A plausible answer, but not the right one. Waverly barely dared to admit what was really on her mind.

She’d been staying with Nicole for two weeks. Such a short amount of time, in the grand scheme of things. Waverly offered to pay rent, only for Nicole to refuse, citing her company payment enough. She housed Waverly out of the goodness of her heart and in the name of their quickly forming friendship and therein lay the problem. Such a short amount of time for Waverly to feel so fond of her, a fondness that extended beyond one of friendship.

Waverly was no fool. She knew Nicole was human and nothing could or should happen between them. She couldn’t stop a tiny, rebellious portion of her heart from hoping, though. That portion scared her with how intensely it hoped. She had no idea how it could have gotten so out of control so quickly. Nicole was certainly special; she was kind and funny and surprisingly sarcastic at times. She was passionate and free and so utterly human. That must have been what drew Waverly so strongly to her. She’d never stopped hoping for a different life, and Nicole represented all she ever wanted.

The thing about hope, however, was that with enough practice it was easily suppressed. Waverly had plenty of practice. She could add this new hope to the pile. There were bigger things to worry about, she couldn’t get involved with some human and put them both in danger.

With that thought in mind, she put her head down as though to ram through a physical manifestation of her thoughts and put on a burst of speed. Her muscles bunched and stretched, and Waverly focused on the physical exertion rather than the exertion of her thoughts.

By the time she made her way back to her clothes, she was almost completely spent. She flopped to the ground, still in her wolf form and panting slightly, in the clearing where she abandoned her clothing. She let her pounding heart slow back to a normal pace before hauling herself to her feet and padding over to her clothes. She sniffed them, inhaling her own scent.

Physically she was ready to Change back. Emotionally, she could use another few hours of running. It was starting to get dark, however. Not safe for a lone wolf to be out by herself. Waverly reluctantly Changed and began tugging clothing onto her sweaty body. Her skin steamed lightly in the cool air. She was glad she had a bit of a hike back to the city. The cooldown would be good for her muscles, and maybe some more time would calm her thoughts that seemed to still be charging through the forest.

The run overall did her good. The itch beneath her skin was mostly quelled, though not squashed outright. The beast within her was not satisfied, such a run was nothing to it even though it exhausted Waverly. She couldn’t hold back a tiny shiver of fear. She would play its game to protect the people she cared about. But eventually, someone had to lose. It was a game after all. She and the beast both knew who would win, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t play until the end.

* * *

 

“Brace yourself, Haught. It’s pretty grisly in there,” Officer McGilly warned as he held back the plastic sheeting covering the door for her. Nicole ducked through and as soon as she caught sight of the room she gagged. McGilly’s warning hadn’t come a moment too soon. It kept her from puking, at least.

The body was paler than any she’d seen before. His eyes were wide and his mouth half open. It was old enough to experience postmortem stiffening but that wasn’t what held it rigid. Everything but the head and neck was encased with spiderwebs. The whole room, in fact, was covered in the gauzy stuff. One wall where it was particularly thick had a person-shaped hole in the webs. The body must have been cut down from there.

“Who the hell did all this?” She asked horrified as she covered her mouth and nose against the strangely sterile stench of death.

“My guess is a pretty big spider,” McGilly said. He had entered the room after Nicole and didn’t seem as shaken as her. Probably because he knew what to expect.

“Or a pretty sick bastard,” Officer Pine said from where he was crouched next to the body. “Take a look at this.” He pointed with a gloved hand at a series of gaping puncture wounds on the side of the man’s neck.

“Cause of death?” Nicole asked.

“That or the cobwebs stuffed in his lungs.” Pine dipped a finger in the open mouth and pulled out a few strands of webbing.

“Ugh, God.”

“God had nothing to do with this, or else He would have saved the poor guy.” McGilly crossed himself. For a place called Purgatory, it’s folks were strangely religious. Nicole let him have a moment of silence before continuing.

“Well, I guess we start indexing the scene.” The thought of doing so made her shiver. “You take pictures of him when he was still up on the wall?”

“What am I, an amateur?” Pine asked. “Of course I did.” Nicole held up her hands to placate him. Pine shrugged his forgiveness, so Nicole turned her attention to the scene. She sighed as she pulled on a pair of her own plastic gloves. This was not going to be pleasant.

It took nearly three hours for them to go through the whole room. Their progress was hampered severely by the spiderwebs that were everywhere. Even the thought of touching them made Nicole recoil — she hated spiders with every fiber of her being. The wall of webbing turned out to be a mere curtain from the rest of the room. The part where the body was found was only half of it, and the other half was even stranger if that was possible. Nicole had to go into a dissociative state to even pass through the hole they hacked through the webs to the other side, relying upon the muscle memory of her training at the academy to finish casing the scene. Her personal theory was that the second half was almost like a nest, though she didn’t want to even think about how big a creature had to be to create all those webs.

“It’s probably just some maniac pulling a Halloween themed murder,” McGilly said when she mentioned her creature theory. “I’m sure these webs were bought at the dollar store or something. We sent a sample to the lab either way.”

Even with the older officer’s reassurances, Nicole wasn’t so sure it wasn’t a creature. Her instincts lead her to believe this was a crime of passion, what with the brutal cause of death. They found no murder weapon, making the probability that it was a set of jaws that caused those marks more likely. By the end of their search, they hadn’t found anything conclusive. All they had were hunches and evidence, which would have to be further examined for any of their theories to come to fruition.

That would be a problem for tomorrow Nicole, however. She was already pulling overtime examining the crime scene, and she was too low on brainpower to make anything of the evidence back at the station. Besides, they still had to wait for lab results. It would be a while before they could start piecing anything together.

Nicole said a tired farewell to her colleagues as she ducked out of the building. Something was bothering her about this case, beyond the surface revulsion. That body seemed colder and more lifeless than any she had ever seen. The image of Pine pulling cobwebs from its mouth kept replaying in Nicole’s head. Over and over and...oh no. She felt a burning in the back of her throat and rushed to a trash can on the street just in time for the bile to come up. She gagged at the smell, made even worse when combined with the garbage in the can. God, people were so gross on the streets. Then again, she wasn’t really in a position to judge, hunched over a trash can after puking her guts out. It made her pride feel better to recall the utter desecration of the scene, but her stomach heaved until she thought she would puke again. She shook herself out of it, she could at least wait until she got home to puke again. Besides, driving always helped clear her head. The long drive home she’d been dreading when she was called out to this side of town was no longer something she was upset about.

She chased her thoughts around as she headed home, though they were almost impossible to pin down. Her favorite theory was still a spider, even though it would be impossible for one of that size to exist. But what else could it be? She’d been watching horror movies with Waverly for a week or so now, her mind was very much open to the supernatural. Not to mention that this wasn’t an isolated event, what with that pack of creatures too big to be stray dogs...

Nicole slammed on the breaks as her subconscious registered that the stoplight in front of her had turned red. She barely managed to stop her cruiser in time and stared wide-eyed at the heavy cross traffic. What was she doing? Imagining impossible creatures while hurling herself down busy streets? This was so unlike her. She was acting too much like her dad for her comfort.

At that thought, Nicole removed one hand from the steering wheel to rub her eyes. That was a whole can of worms she had to unpack, and probably shouldn’t while driving.

She had been thinking of her dad a lot lately, however. Watching his favorite kind of movies brought back memories of sitting next to him on the couch as he picked them apart, discussing their inconsistencies with his own wild theories about the supernatural. Nicole half listened to amuse him, and it was all fun and games until he took it too far. His obsession ruined his career and his relationship with his family as it utterly consumed him. It ruined his life. Nicole would not be like him, jumping at every shadow and bump in the night.

She steeled herself, gripping the steering wheel firmly with both hands. Easing the cruiser forward when the light turned, she came to the conclusion that she would follow through with this case no matter where it leads, but she would do so at arm's length. If this turned out to be some freaky spider murderer, so be it. Nicole had a job to do and that was the bottom line.

But right now, she was off duty.

Nicole unbuttoned a few buttons of her uniform as she stepped into her house. She flipped on the lights even though there was still some remaining dim light from outside. It would be dark soon anyway, much faster than Nicole would realize. Her purse and jacket hung up on the coat rack, her boots kicked off and left in a haphazard pile near the door, Nicole padded into her house. Her intent was to crash on the couch in order to gather enough energy to start dinner, though before she even reached it a tiny mrrrp distracted her. She spun around to find Calamity Jane walking out from the kitchen, back arched and fluffy tail in the air as she rubbed against the door jam.

“Hi beautiful,” Nicole cooed. “You’ve been so shy! Haven’t seen you down here in a while.” Calamity mrrrped again and Nicole crouched down to hold out a hand for her. The cat scampered over, rubbing her face against Nicole’s fingers affectionately. Nicole grinned as her fingers combed through Calamity’s soft fur. She was starting to get a mat near her spine Nicole needed to brush out. She just hadn’t seen Calamity for long enough in the past few days.

“I didn’t know you had a cat.” Nicole jumped as Waverly spoke up.

“Hey! I didn’t hear you come in,” Nicole said. Calamity Jane bolted, her claws scratching against the wooden floor. Nicole sighed and shook long orange fur off her hand. She looked over at Waverly, who hadn’t taken off her jacket yet and still stood just inside the door. Her nose was wrinkled as if she smelled something bad, but when Nicole turned she quickly rid herself of the expression. Backlit as she was by the last of the daylight, she took Nicole’s breath away momentarily.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” Waverly said. Nicole blinked a few times to clear her head. “I thought you’d hear the door open.”

“Honestly I’m so tired I wouldn’t hear a herd of elephants if they charged through my bedroom,” Nicole said. She stood upright, knees cracking as her legs straightened. “As for the cat, I’m kind of surprised. Usually, Calamity’s really friendly.”

“It’s ok, I’m not really a cat person. Or any animal person at all. That’s so not what’s going on here.” Waverly laughed in a way that was too forced to be natural. She quickly looked at anything that wasn’t Nicole, and it made Nicole scrunch up her eyebrows in amusement.

“Anyway, I was just about to start dinner. Want to help?”

“Sure, why not?” Waverly toed off her shoes and shed her jacket. As she went to hang it up a few leaves fluttered to the floor. They caught Nicole’s attention.

“What did you do today, roll around in the forest?” She joked. Even with her back turned Nicole could see Waverly stiffen.

“Yeah, it was a blast,” she said in a strained voice. Nicole chuckled

“Bet it was more fun than finding a guy who was killed by a giant spider.” Waverly whipped around, her eyes wide.

“No way, you have to tell me all about it,” she said. Her enthusiasm was a little disconcerting, though Nicole had to admit it was a little charming.

“Definitely. Just, not over dinner. I’ll lose my appetite.”

“Oh please, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“You underestimate my fear of spiders. It was so gross I lost my lunch, which I haven’t done at the sight of a body since I was a rookie.” Nicole shivered. She took down a mixing bowl from the top shelf, trying to distract herself. “So changing the subject, what do you think of Purgatory so far?” She paused, debating with herself whether or not to continue. She went over to the fridge and stuck her nose in it under the guise of picking out ingredients. She really was, but it was mostly so Waverly wouldn’t see her face as she said, “are you thinking about staying for a while?” Nicole’s heart thumped in her throat as she waited out the brief pause before Waverly responded.

“Is this your way of asking how much longer I’m going to be a freeloader?” Nicole jumped, almost smacking her head on one of the shelves.

“What? No, I’m just curious,” she spluttered.

“Relax, I’m just joking,” Waverly said with a sweet smile. “Although we do need to have a conversation about rent until I can find a place for myself.”

“O-okay.” Nicole turned back to mixing ingredients. “Though you didn’t answer my question.”

“I think Purgatory is...interesting,” Waverly said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I like it a lot, though if I stay really depends on what my family does.”

“You don’t have to bow to their every whim, you know,” Nicole said. “You can be your own person.” Waverly gave a short, unenthusiastic laugh.

“Doubtful. It’s kind of...survival of the fittest where I come from. If I don’t make myself the fittest…”

“If you’re that unhappy, why do you stay? Speaking from experience, that’s a terrible way to live.” Dinner preparations had fallen to the back of Nicole’s mind as she was much more engaged with the current conversation.

“If I’m going to bare my soul we’re coming back to that ‘speaking from experience’ bit.” Waverly cocked an eyebrow. Nicole nodded earnestly, wanting to know the whole story Waverly would tell. She could practically feel her “puppy dog” expression, as Wynonna put it, cross her face. She just couldn’t help it. “Honestly, safety comes before happiness. My family means safety, and I’m happy enough with them that I don’t mind making sacrifices.”

“But there have to be other ways to be safe,” Nicole said. She barely bit back the _I could keep you safe_ she wanted to say. It still felt implied. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of danger Waverly was afraid of. Something to do with the family business?

“I’ve always been a one option kind of gal,” Waverly said. Her tone was sad, but not in a self-pitying way. It seemed Waverly had made her peace with whatever that option was a long time ago. “Though, Purgatory has a way of opening up new possibilities. The freedom is incredible. And,” her eyes flicked downward as she spoke and she had to take a deep breath before she could meet Nicole’s gaze again, “I’m starting to lo-like the people.”

Those words were all that was needed to shred the last of Nicole’s self-control. She strode across the kitchen toward Waverly, whose expression turned into one of shock as Nicole started to lean in.

“Nicole,” she said, so softly it was barely audible. Her name was like a brick wall to Nicole, however, and she stopped in her tracks. She blinked a few times, taking in the uncertainty in Waverly’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” Nicole covered her mouth and took a step back. “I have no idea what that was. I wasn’t trying to make it seem like you owe me anything.”

“It’s not that,” Waverly blurted out. “Nicole, you’re so...but I can’t. There’re too many things you don’t know about me that I can’t tell you. And it wouldn’t be fair to either of us if we rushed in blindly.” She crossed her arms defensively. “I never should have taken you up on your offer. I should go.” She slipped around Nicole and out of the kitchen. All her belongings were still in her backpack, which she scooped up. She sent one last regretful look at Nicole, who was still standing in the kitchen, before setting her jaw and marching out of the house.

The front door clicked shut and Nicole still hadn’t moved. She was too busy internally beating herself up. What was she thinking? Obviously, she wasn’t. That was so incredibly stupid of her, and she’d only succeeded in driving Waverly away. She let out a long frustrated groan. To make things worse, there was a bitter taste in her mouth. Nicole thought it might have been from her actions, but then she remembered what happened on the street. She smacked a hand over her mouth in horror. She never brushed her teeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading everyone! I hope some things are coming to light for you all. a lot of things need explaining over the next few chapters, so get ready!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late update! It definitely wasn't because I forgot...anyway here's the chapter!!

After the disaster with Waverly, Nicole left her half prepared dinner in favor of shuffling over to the couch. She threw herself over the back of it, rolling so she was face down on the cushions. She reached blindly for a pillow to bring up to her face and screamed into it until she thought she would suffocate. When the yelling died down, she left her face planted in the pillow with the hope that she would never have to show it again.

It was a good plan until she finally inhaled and realized that this was the pillow Waverly was using when she crashed here. It smelled like her. Nicole couldn’t bring herself to pull away, even though her inner voice of reason was screaming that she was being creepy and pathetic.

She ended up falling asleep on the couch and staying there until mid-afternoon the next day. When she woke up she felt terrible. Her head was pounding and her stomach churning. She booked it to the kitchen and threw up in the sink.

When it subsided, Nicole sank to the floor without bothering to rinse out the sink. She definitely had some kind of bug. At least that meant she wasn’t losing her edge as a police officer.

Nicole spent two of her sick days and the weekend recovering from whatever stomach bug she had. During that time, she neither saw nor heard from Waverly. In her more lucid moments, she couldn’t help but worry about where she was staying. The weather, while still pleasant during the day, was getting colder and colder at night. Nicole hoped Waverly found another place to stay rather than that bench in the park.

When Monday came around, however, Nicole reluctantly decided that she couldn’t let her worry about Waverly interfere with her job. Waverly was a grown-up who could take care of herself. Though rejection stung, Nicole was determined to set that aside so that if Waverly wanted to come back to whatever friendship they had the option was open. After four days of radio silence, it didn’t look like something that was going to happen.

So Nicole sucked it up and trudged into work. She was happy to blame her derelict mood on her illness, especially since it wasn’t a total lie. She had permission from Nedley to take it easy on her first day back, and seeing as there was always paperwork to catch up on Nicole wasn’t upset. Her morning went better than expected; the coffee machine worked after only a few minutes of battle and Wynonna had taken the spiderweb murder for herself, something Nicole wasn’t surprised to hear. Wynonna typically took on weirder, more interesting cases.

“Hey there, barf breath.” Nicole groaned as she heard Wynonna’s upbeat tone. Speak of the devil. With such a specific greeting, Nicole knew exactly where this conversation was going. It was part of the reason she was so reluctant to come back to work. Though it was strange for Wynonna to appear at the office before 11:00. “Heard you tried to mack on my sister a few days ago.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Nicole shook her head, more to support her words to herself than Wynonna. She kept her eyes glued to the computer screen, refusing to make eye contact. Even as Wynonna bent over and placed her elbows on her desk, she was resolute. Wynonna rested her chin in her palms and out of the corner of her eye Nicole could see her giant, shit-eating grin. She bit back another groan, grinding her teeth together instead and focusing on her “if you ignore her, she’ll go away” tactic.

“That’s a real ouchie bro. I mean, you’re probably one of my favorite flat foots, but still. Massive fail.” Wynonna was enjoying this way too much.

“How did you even find out,” Nicole said, finally turning her attention and her chair toward Wynonna. “I thought Waverly wasn’t living with you.”

“She isn’t.” Wynonna shrugged. “I found out through my _amazing_ powers of deduction. Someone should really give me an award for them.”

“More like powers of wearing people down until they give in and tell you everything,” Nicole mumbled.

“Those too.” Wynonna dragged the toe of her boot across the linoleum, causing a squeak that made Nicole wince and finally make eye contact. Now that she could see Wynonna’s face better, it was clear she was having too much fun with this. “But hey, shoot your shot! I’ll be here to give you shit for it, but shoot it anyway.” She removed one hand from her chin to give Nicole a finger gun and a wink.

“Is that why you’re here? Or can I help you with something work related?” Nicole asked.

“Actually, yes.” Wynonna straightened up and spun around so she could sit on the desk. Nicole hurried to move her files so they wouldn’t be sat on. “I need you to come to a nightclub with me.”

“I don’t see how this is work-related. And speaking of work, I have to get back to—”

“Hear me out, okay?” Against her better judgment, Nicole sighed and leaned back in her chair. She laced her fingers together in her lap and waited expectantly. “I have a lead on the spider murder. Apparently, she frequents a pretty exclusive nightclub called Shorty’s. I can get in, but as much as I hate to admit it, I’d rather not go alone, since this is her turf.”

“Wynonna, is that character development I’m sensing?” Nicole asked teasingly. Wynonna scoffed.

“Absolutely not. It’s just that since Waverly’s in town she’s really pushing family values like teamwork and not dying alone bleeding out in some alley because you’re too stubborn to admit you need help,” she said. “So, will you help me...not do that?” She spat out the words like they were a bad taste in her mouth. Her facial expressions screamed the opposite of what she was saying, and it made Nicole want to help her even more.

Ignoring the pang in her heart at the mention of Waverly, Nicole said, “How reliable is your source? Is this guy actually going to be where they say she is?”

“My source is reliable as they come. We might have some help from them once we’re inside, but their hands are a little tied. The only sure thing I could get was the guarantee my suspect will be there.” Wynonna said.

“So the two of us are walking into a potential ambush with a murderer with no backup on the word of a source you won’t even tell me the name of,” Nicole said. Wynonna gave her a winning smile and Nicole shrugged. “Sure, I’ll help you. If only because that scenario you described was too specific and I don’t want it to happen to you again.”

“Excellent!” Wynonna rubbed her palms together. “I have some stuff to take care of, but meet me at 8:00 on Thursday outside Shorty’s and I’ll get us in.” Still grinning wolfishly, she stood, spun on her heel and marched out of the station.

Nicole sighed, unsure as to how she got roped into this task in the first place. Maybe because she was the only person in this precinct who could stand Wynonna. She tended to take the weirder, more dangerous cases Nicole was happy to be left out of. The fact that Wynonna was starting to make a habit of dragging her along didn’t agree well with her. She had no idea how she would have handled being up close and personal with some of the monsters Wynonna had taken down. Maybe she should start keeping her distance, at least when it came to work.

Actually, now that she was thinking about it, Nicole recalled the recent Ramaker case as something of an outlier when it came to Wynonna’s M.O. Why would a badass with a reputation for stopping the unstoppable stoop so low as to take on a petty robbery case? Sure, it was a high profile robbery, but it was still a far cry from the usual sickos Wynonna brought down.

Maybe it had something to do with Waverly coming to town. Wynonna mentioned she was part of the family business. She might have wanted an easy case to ease her little sister into big city crime solving. That case was a real turning point for Wynonna. Nicole noticed her choking back some of her more mean spirited comments. She was drinking less, taking fewer risks.

Nicole was glad for that. Despite what a pain in the ass she was, Wynonna was important to Nicole, and not just as someone who would solve the cases she couldn’t. She was a friend. Even though that friendship was barely pursued outside of work and consisted mostly of Wynonna bothering Nicole, it still mattered.

And she just _had_ to go and put that all on the line for some stupid crush. Thankfully, Wynonna didn’t seem too hold it against her. Nicole didn’t want to think about what would happen if she did.

* * *

 

“Who knew my little sister was such a heartbreaker. Or should I say, Haught breaker.” Waverly stiffened at Wynonna’s greeting. She tucked her book into her backpack, which was on the floor between her feet. “I have no idea how you did it so quickly, but I was just at the police station talking to our favorite officer and boy is she smitten,” Wynonna said as she slid into the drivers side of her truck. “Though I can’t believe she tried to kiss you with barf breath.” Waverly inhaled deeply, categorizing the fading scents coming off of Wynonna. She did her best not to flinch when she picked out Nicole’s sweet scent among that of coffee, spilled ink, and some unidentifiable yet definitely funky spoiled food.

It was somewhat worrisome she could pick out such specific scents in two-legged form. They were close to the Harvest Moon, but not that close, and she hadn’t exactly kept as tight a rein on herself as she should have. The day Nicole tried to kiss her she’d barely been able to keep the monster at bay long enough to flee and shift into four-legged form to run herself too exhausted to succumb to the urge. Nicole had a way of stirring her emotions unlike anyone else and combined with the stress of recent events as well as upcoming ones, Waverly was barely clinging to her island of control. The enhancement of her senses was only the beginning of worrisome signs she was desperate to hide.

“I didn’t do anything,” Waverly said. “She’s just...special.”

“Oh no,” Wynonna groaned. “Not you too. How can you think that even with what you smelled?”

“Shut up!” She cried, slugging her sister in the arm a little harder than necessary.

“Ow! Geeze, what’s gotten into you?” Good question. A lot, lately.

“I’m just stressed. The moon will be full in a few days,” she said. Wynonna instantly sobered.

“Oh, right.” She fell silent, probably contemplating how insensitive she was being. She may have been looking forward to it, but Waverly certainly wasn’t. Then again, Wynonna hadn’t had to worry about Waverly on the Harvest Moon for over three years. “Do you...have a plan? I mean, you and Rosita can’t, like, be out and about.”

“Jeremy’s getting the last of the silver ready.” A task that couldn’t have been pleasant at all, but was extremely necessary. “You’re going to lock us in the basement and then forget we exist for a night.”

“It just sounds so inhumane. I know you’re fighting a monster who wants to spread seeds of chaos like the bathroom at Shorty’s spreads diseases, but you’re still you.”

“It’s not really a hard choice when it comes down to it.” Waverly shrugged. “And anyway, shouldn’t you be involved in these choices now you’re taking over as our alpha?” Wynonna grimaced.

“It’s been kind of slow going on that front,” she said.

"Well, let's make it fast going. Don't we have an appointment with the Blacksmith?"

"Ugh, I hope she has good news for us. Anything is better than what I've been doing." Wynonna twisted the key in the ignition. "I haven't even been able to make Jeremy listen to me. Jeremy!"

"It's not about getting them to listen to you Wynonna," Waverly said as Wynonna pulled out of her parking spot.

"Well, I know that. But I don't know where else to start." She let out a long sigh. "It's tough having to know what to do all the time."

"Being the leader is never easy," Waverly said. "Why do you think Daddy was so hard on Willa?"

"Ah, so you're in a sentimental and a pining mood," Wynonna said. "As your esteemed leader, tell me about that. What can I do to make all your troubles go away?"

"If you take things this seriously back at the safe house no wonder no one listens to you."

"I am serious!" Wynonna cried. "I want to help you. I want to help the whole pack."

"There it is." Waverly crossed her arms as a small smile crossed her face. "One thing I learned that Daddy never taught any of us is that wanting to help and being willing to do so is more valuable than any show of strength."

"Isn't that a little hypocritical when we're going to check on how much progress a witch has made in repairing our magic, demon killing gun?"

"Maybe a little. But I lead them without the gun." She barely managed to bite back a scathing comment about how poorly it went. Wynonna didn't need her self-deprecation right now. "Besides, the gun isn't for the pack. It's for the things trying to kill the pack."

"Of which there are plenty." Wynonna's face darkened. She'd been extremely shaken by the state of the pack, especially buy Gus' condition. Waverly hoped she was more motivated to keep anything from tearing them apart like that again rather than guilty for her part in the devastation in the first place. “You’re sure the Devil's Triangle Pack won’t follow us here?”

“I’m sure,” Waverly said, confidence lacing her voice for the first time in the whole conversation. One thing she knew for sure she could rely on was her research and application of that research. “They wouldn’t dare start a pack war so close to humans. Besides, its been nearly a month since we’ve left, and there’s been no sign of them.”

“Still, I’ll feel a lot better knowing we have a secret weapon that can kill them,” Wynonna said.

“Well, for now, Rosita and I can be the secret weapons.” Wynonna’s brow furrowed.

“You know you’re more than that, right Waverly?” She asked.

“Of course I do,” she said as surely as she could around the bitter taste of a lie made her gag.

“Good, cause Daddy was stupid not to realize it,” Wynonna said.

“It was the one thing about me that made him happy, though,” Waverly blurted out. Wynonna let out a growl.

“Well, he’s dead. His opinion doesn’t count anymore,” she snarled. “We’re here.” She slammed on the brakes more violently than she needed to, jolting the truck and it’s passengers roughly. She threw the gear shift into park, tore the keys out of the ignition, and shouldered the door open. Waverly rushed to follow as Wynonna slammed the door, nearly hard enough to shatter the window.

The sisters stalked up the short driveway to the entrance of the unimpressive looking shack. They ignored the defunct landmines, though it still made Waverly flinch when Wynonna brushed against one and made it click. When they reached the door, Wynonna slammed her fist against it a few times so she would be heard over the clang of metal coming from inside. The clanging stopped as Waverly took Wynonna’s other hand which was also clenched in a fist and eased her fingers open. She slid her hand into Wynonna’s, who looked over to Waverly with an expression of surprise on her face. She hadn’t realized how much her anger was taking over. Her gaze softened when she met Waverly’s, and she squeezed her hand in reassurance.

The door opened and released a surge of heat that made Waverly blink repeatedly at the force of it. The Blacksmith leaned against the door frame. She wore her heavy leathers and sweat poured down her face. She looked ready to scold whoever was bothering her until she recognized the Earps. Without a word, she stood back from the door and jerked her head as an invitation to enter her forge.

“How’s it hanging?” Wynonna asked when The Blacksmith shut the door and turned to face them. She raised an eyebrow at the greeting before turning to Waverly instead. Waverly sighed.

“You know what we’re here for. We’ll make this quick and get out of your hair. Any progress on the gun?”

“I have it right here,” The Blacksmith said, pulling Peacemaker out of her apron. The long barrel gleamed in the forgelight. Waverly had never seen it so shiny. “Now this...is a beautiful piece of hardware,” her eyes softened as she spoke about the gun. She held it out to Wynonna so she could examine her work. “I checked it over, enchantments, mechanisms, everything. Did some tune up here and there — whoever owned this gun before you commited a crime for not taking care of it — but there was nothing broken about it when you brought it to me.”

“What? Then why hasn’t it fired in over twenty years?” Wynonna asked.

“Because it’s not the gun that’s broken,” The Blacksmith said, as though the solution was obvious. “It’s the heir. The gun hasn’t accepted anyone because no one is worthy.” Wynonna visibly flinched.

“What do I have to do to be ‘worthy’?” Wynonna asked. The Blacksmith eyed her appraisingly.

“Over time I believe that your renewed loyalty and protection of the pack will reinstate you as the heir,” she said.

“How long?”

“Couldn’t say. Might be anywhere from a few weeks to decades. Long enough to make up for your abandonment.”

“We don’t have that kind of time,” Wynonna said. She turned to Waverly, eyes shining. “I’m so sorry.”

“As touching as that is,” The Blacksmith interrupted before Waverly could respond. “You are not the only eligible heir.” Her eyes flicked toward Waverly before slowly offering the gun to her. Waverly took a surprised step back.

“Me?”

“Yes. You are young, but you’ve already proven your loyalty to the pack and your ancestor’s legacy ten times over. You’ve been there to pick up the pieces for so long, without any expectations of glory.,” The Blacksmith paused, “well, maybe some. I see it in your eyes. You want this so badly, more than anything in the world.”

“I do,” Waverly breathed. Peacemaker seemed to glow brighter the longer she stared at it. But Wynonna’s heartbroken expression and the terrifying hunger within her were even more prominent. “It doesn’t matter, though. I can’t wield it.”

“Why not? What’s holding you back?” The Blacksmith asked insistently. “You’re pack wouldn’t have to rely on anyone but you. You could save them all.”

“I could...if I was what you think I am.” Waverly squeezed her eyes shut to block out the visual calling of the gun. “How could I wield it if Peacemaker is one of the only things guaranteed to kill me if I lose control?”

“Child, what do you mean?”

“She means she’s not one of us,” Wynonna said, voice thick with regret. “Waverly is a dire wolf.”

Hearing the words spoken aloud was like a punch to the gut. It sucked the air out of her lungs and she struggled to draw more in. Yes, her nature certainly gave her an advantage that helped her keep control of the pack. But she walked a very fine line, using it without letting it take control. If she or anyone like her wielded Peacemaker, it would mean utter destruction. The perfect weapon put in the hands of a perfect killer. Visions of slaughter passed behind her eyelids, every one of them from a perspective that was both her own and not. Waverly shuddered and tried to push them away.

“I see,” The Blacksmith finally said, interrupting Waverly’s imagined nightmare. “That would explain why your desire is so distinct, though you do a remarkable job of controlling it.” Waverly’s eyes snapped open in shock.

“I, uh, thank you,” she stuttered. The Blacksmith regarded her for a few moments and Waverly squirmed under her piercing gaze. It wasn’t that easy to spot, was it?

“I’ve spent some time around dire wolves,” The Blacksmith said, answering her unspoken question. “Most were too far gone, but some wanted to retain a sliver of their humanity. I created a tincture that helped them repress the beast. If you’re interested I’m sure it will work for you.”

Waverly was too stunned to respond, so Wynonna blurted out, “yes, she wants it!” At The Blacksmith’s reproachful glare, she said, “I know Waverly. She’s struggled for so long with this, and it couldn’t have been easy. If you have something that could help…”

“Yes,” Waverly said at barely a whisper. “Yes, I’ll take it. Name your price.”

“No price but the knowledge that you won’t harm anyone,” The Blacksmith said. “Let me get that for you. I’d avoid eating meat — raw or otherwise — while on it, as it tends to awaken the beast.” Waverly nodded along, already familiar with the information, as The Blacksmith walked over to a cabinet. She rummaged around for a few moments before withdrawing a tiny vial from within. “A few drops every day should do the trick. You may find you need less, but don’t take any more. Come back when you run out and we can discuss the effectiveness.” She handed the vial to Waverly, who held it like it was the most precious thing on Earth. To her, it was, more than Peacemaker, even.

“Thank you,” she managed to choke out through the sudden lump in her throat. She tried to swallow it, but it was persistent and refused to listen. She was too emotional to try and force it.

“You’re one of the good ones,” Wynonna said, sounding as choked up as Waverly. The Blacksmith approached her, weighing Peacemaker in both her hands.

“And you’re not as far gone as you think, Wynonna Earp,” The Blacksmith said. She held out Peacemaker and Wynonna reverently took it by the handle. She slid it into the special holster she wore and to Waverly, the very air around them seemed to sigh. Wynonna must have felt it too, for she looked around curiously.

The Earps left the forge with another round of profuse thanks which made The Blacksmith look slightly uncomfortable. She eagerly sent them on their way, though she did her best to hide her relief at their departure.

“Babygirl,” Wynonna said once they reached her truck. “Everything is about to change for you.”

“For us,” Waverly said. “And it will be for the better.”

* * *

 

Despite having lived in Purgatory for over five years, Nicole had never been to the nightclub Wynonna asked her to meet at. Oh sure, she’d heard the name. Shorty’s was famous for its wild parties and killer entertainment. More than a few sting operations had been performed at or near Shorty’s by Nicole’s colleagues. She’d never had the pleasure of being on one of them, and even though the lights and music coming from the building could be seen and heard from blocks away, it was very different standing in line trying to get in.

Nicole had gone for her least narky outfit — a black dress she’d been saving for a special occasion with her long red hair left loose — and she still felt like she stuck out. The heels some of these women were wearing were weapons by themselves. Though it was dark, the light of the full moon allowed her to see plenty of silk shirts, expensive watches and jewelry, and outrageous looking dresses that left her feeling way underdressed. And she wasn’t even through the door yet.

Not that it was looking like she’d be through anytime soon. Nicole sighed heavily as she craned her neck to get a look at the line she was standing in. It wrapped around the block — she couldn’t even see the doorway. She glanced down at her watch, a thin silver band with a small face, and saw that it was 8:15. No sign of Wynonna yet. Maybe she was already inside?

She lost her train of thought as the trio in front of her broke into a loud argument. When she tried to listen in, Nicole was surprised she couldn’t understand. They were speaking in an odd, hissing language, and when she looked closer she noticed their yellow eyes and the scales around the edges of their faces. Great, a costume party. One more thing to make her stand out. It was two days before Halloween, and Shorty’s was always up to date on seasonal trends. Of course there would be a theme tonight. Though the guys costumes were subtle, they were actually really good. Nicole was about to take a closer look, debating on how to do so without seeming like a creep, when someone grabbed her wrist.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Wynonna said in her ear. Nicole barely held herself back from punching her in the face. What other reaction did Wynonna expect, grabbing a police officer on the street like that. She didn’t maintain her grip for long. She flinched away almost immediately as her fingers closed around Nicole’s watch, but she shook out her hand and linked their arms carefully. Probably just a shock, then. “Like the dress. Understated, but sexy. Very you.” She held up an ok sign.

“Wynonna!” Nicole finally managed to splutter. “I almost decked you. You shouldn’t have grabbed me like that.”

“Meh, it was worth it to see the look on your face,” she said. “What are you doing back here?”

“Waiting in line.” She spoke like it was obvious.

“What are you doing that for?” Wynonna asked. There was genuine confusion in her voice. “I know the owner, lets go.” She dragged Nicole out of line. Nicole began to protest, she’d been waiting there for twenty minutes, until Wynonna’s words sunk in and she felt a bit like an idiot. A few people in line heard Wynonna say she knew the owner and clamoured towards her, trying to use her to get them in, but she shooed them away with a few fearsome glares.

They rounded the corner arm in arm and Wynonna put on a winning smile as they approached the bouncer at the door. He wore a tight black shirt with the word Shorty’s across his chest, and looked like he was going to burst out of it at any minute. His height added to his intimidation factor, even in heels he had a couple inches on Nicole. His neutral expression was like stone, he was equally unlikely to submit to bribery or tears to let in someone who shouldn’t be let in. And Wynonna was headed straight toward him.

“Hey Dolls, my entry is on Shorty,” she said as she waltzed herself and Nicole right past him.

“What about your friend?” He called over his shoulder, though he made no moves to stop them. Nicole grinned awkwardly, going for a similar expression as Wynonna and sure she failed miserably.

“Her entry’s on me!” Wynonna said without looking back. Dolls shook his head, but an expression of amusement cracked his stony facade. Nicole only caught a glimpse of it before they were through the double doors and into the main nightclub itself.

Inside was dark, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust even with the lights around the room. They were purple when she first saw them and shifted to green by the time her eyes adjusted. Shorty’s was already packed with people dressed just as nicely as those she’d seen outside. Her suspicions of it being a costume party were correct, she caught sight of wildly colored skin, fangs, and even a few  tails. If she and Wynonna were trying to blend in, they were doing a miserable job of it.

“Don’t look so tense, Haught,” Wynonna yelled over the music. Nicole could barely hear her even though she was standing right next to her.

“We stick out like a sore thumb,” Nicole shouted. “Why didn’t you tell me this was a themed night?”

“We’re fine.” Wynonna waved off her concerns. “They know me here. Lets go get a drink and talk to my source, yeah?”

“Okay,” Nicole said uncertainly. Wynonna was already pushing her way toward the bar before she responded, so Nicole squared her shoulders and shoved off after her.

They reached the bar rather quickly. Wynonna was quite adept at slipping through openings and making them when there were none. She snatched two barstools near the middle that were just vacated. Nicole awkwardly sat while trying not to touch the sticky bar. Electric blue light glowed at her knees and she felt the warmth of lightbulbs under the overhang. The shelves of liquor were similarly lit by long tubes running along the edges. Unlike the lights by the dancefloor, these retained their color and kept the bar and its surrounding area better lit than the rest of the room.

Wynonna slapped her hand on the counter twice, trying to get one of the bartender’s attention. A blonde woman with too much lip gloss scowled at her, holding up one finger to indicate they would have to wait. Wynonna made a rude gesture as soon as her back was turned and Nicole sighed.

“Maybe you’ll be better at that, Nicole. You know what makes the ladies tick, eh?”

“May as well,” she said. She leaned forward, standing up slightly from her seat and sending a wave and a soft smile toward the bartender. She glared even harder, then stuck up her nose and pointedly ignored her and Wynonna, even as she finished helping the people she was with. “Apparently not,” she sighed and sat back down.

“I was just messing with you.” Wynonna elbowed her. “Steph’s a real bitch. You couldn’t have gotten her over here if you tried. She hates me that much. Besides, our wonderful source knows exactly what I’m ordering for us.” She jerked her head toward the other bartender working the other end of the bar.

Her timing was perfect, as the bartender slid two shots onto the counter in front of Nicole and Wynonna. Nicole turned to thank her, but the words died on her tongue when she recognized Waverly. She wore a similar uniform as Dolls, though hers was tied at the bottom with a hair tie, making it a crop top. Nicole was too shocked to see her to even appreciate her abs, and Waverly had a similar expression.

“Good timing, Waves,” Wynonna said, breaking the tension slightly. “Have you seen our perp tonight?” Waverly blinked a few times, trying to rid herself of her surprise.

“Not yet, but I heard some patrons talking. She’ll be here tonight.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Hetty Tate. You took down her brother a few months ago.”

“Ah.” Wynonna didn’t sound too enthused at the reminder. “He was a son of a bitch. I assume Hetty is just as bad?”

“Worse.” Waverly rolled her eyes. “She’s a whiner. Always complaining about something.”

“I’d complain if I were her too.”

“Please, you complain enough as you are.” Waverly rolled her eyes. “I gotta go, but I’ll try to catch your attention if I see her.” And just like that she was gone, leaving Nicole feeling like a grenade went off right in front of her.

“You look like you need that buddy.” Wynonna nodded to the shot in front of Nicole

“I’m not drinking on the job,” Nicole said automatically.

“You’re not on the job.” Wynonna shoved the shot into Nicole’s hands. “Drink. On three.” She clanged her glass against Nicole’s. Against her better judgement, Nicole raised it to her lips and threw it back.

“Ugh, peppermint.” She grimaced as the taste washed through her mouth. It was like doing a shot of mouthwash.

“Interesting,” Wynonna said, smacking her lips. “She never fails to surprise me.”

“So what now?” Nicole twisted in her stool so her back was to the bar. Nevermind that the change of subject was convenient, it helped her feel like she was here for an actual reason, not just for Wynonna to toy with.

“We wait. And while we wait, we drink and enjoy ourselves,” Wynonna said. She held up two fingers, which Waverly rolled her eyes at. It didn’t stop her from delivering two glasses of beer the next time she had a minute.

“I don’t really feel like dancing,” Nicole said, staring miserably into her beer. She didn’t really want to drink either.

“That’s fine. The people watching here is fantastic.” Wynonna spun around on her stool. She placed her elbows on the bar and began scanning the crowd. “Look at the teeth on that guy!”

Though she continued to point out oddities in the crowd, Nicole knew Wynonna was actually keeping her eyes peeled for their target. This was just a way for her to pass the time. Nicole, on the other hand, had no idea who they were looking for. She resigned herself to being backup, ready to leap in after Wynonna. It left her with nothing to do other than sip her slowly warming beer. It was no wonder her idle eyes were drawn to Waverly.

Despite how busy she was, Waverly looked as happy as Nicole had ever seen her. She had a glint to her eyes that was unhindered by the stress that was so often there. Her smile was genuine, unlike her coworker Steph’s, whose expression was as forced as could be. To Nicole, the rest of the bar fell away as she watched Waverly navigate the bar with a confidence she’d never seen. She felt like a creep for staring, especially when Waverly met her gaze with a small smile. Nicole looked away pointedly, but it didn’t stop her eyes from wandering back in her direction. Waverly was particularly magnetic tonight. Nicole wasn’t the only one watching her.

She felt a bubble of jealousy well up when she noticed Waverly’s other admirers. It was completely unfounded, Nicole told herself. Waverly didn’t belong to her or anyone else. Still, her fingers tightened around her sweating glass when she noticed some of the patrons getting a little too pushy.

To distract herself, Nicole elbowed Wynonna. “Any sign of her yet?”

“Nope. It’s only been like an hour, though,” Wynonna said. “Hey, lighten up. You looked more stressed than my dad, and he had to raise me.”

“I’m sure you were a delight,” Nicole said. She was distracted by something near the door, however. She craned her neck trying to see, though the crowd parted easily as they began to sense what Nicole did.

A guy that was built enough to rival John Cena was shoving his way into the club. The air around him in a full ten feet seemed dead and foreboding. He was taller than even Dolls. More shockingly, he had honest to god _horns_ growing out of his head. They curled near his ears, and even from a distance, Nicole was impressed by the quality of the prosthetics. Or, she would have been if they guy didn’t scream trouble.

He had two friends with him, almost as muscular and just as aggressive. Nicole was surprised the music didn’t cut off at their arrival. It would have had they been in a movie. They were scanning the crowd just as Wynonna had been moments ago, but they were getting up in people’s faces and pushing them aside when they were cleared of suspicion.

“I don’t like the look of that,” Wynonna muttered as she caught sight of the guys. “Maybe you should get out of here before things get rough.”

“And what about you?” Nicole shot back. She also glanced over her shoulder at Waverly. No, she wasn’t going to leave either of the Earps behind.

“This is probably going to get ugly, I’ll watch out for Waverly, but you really have to go,” Wynonna said. There was a hint of desperation in her voice, something Nicole had never heard before. She looked back at the increasingly large and angry wake of people the three guys were leaving, and her gut told her that she didn’t want to be involved in this.

Just as she was about to concede, however, the big guy found whoever he was looking for. His friends circled around the target, and Nicole watched them exchange words she couldn’t quite make out. Before she even knew what was happening, Shorty’s exploded into pandemonium.

The roar of the fight swelled up so fast and loud it drowned out the music. It reminded Nicole of watching lightning strike. In front of her was a mass of heaving bodies, too many for her to distinguish individuals from. She saw brief flashes of security trying to break things up, but they were swallowed by the uncontrollable tide of the fight. Then her view was cut off as Wynonna forced her to duck just in time as a beer bottle flew over her head.

Wynonna didn’t even give her time to right herself. The next thing Nicole knew was Wynonna shoving her in the direction of the door. It was incredibly slow going, as they were forced to inch around the edge of the room. Even out here on the fringes, the fighting was fierce. Nicole had no idea how a club full of people enjoying themselves devolved into this so quickly.

By the time they reached the exit, Nicole was out of breath from having to dodge and scramble out of the way of everyone. She had a brief flash of responsibility saying she should do what she could to help, but her survival instincts screamed that there was nothing she could do. Besides, Wynonna had all but forced her into the stream of people flooding out the door.

“What about Waverly?” Nicole gasped as she fought with her own friend to remain within the building.

“Jesus Christ, think of yourself for once, Nicole!” Wynonna said. Her eyes seemed to practically glow with intensity. “I’m sure Waverly is — oh, fuck me!” Nicole followed her line of sight. Enough people had cleared out by now that she could see the main brawl. And Waverly advancing towards it.

Both she and Wynonna watched helplessly as Waverly marched up to a guy twice her size and drove her elbow into his kidney from behind. He collapsed immediately and Waverly moved onto her next target. A woman got a fist to the face and a knee to the gut before Waverly switched her sights. It just so happened to be one of the horns guy’s friends. He saw her coming and quickly backpedaled, looking for a softer target or a way out.

He happened to find both in the direction of the exit. He saw Wynonna and Nicole, and his eyes narrowed. He bolted out of the fray, intent on them. Nicole’s heart rate skyrocketed as Wynonna stepped in front of her. Wynonna honest to god _growled_ , as animalistic as Nicole had ever heard. But she didn’t get a chance to have at the guy. Waverly grabbed him by the front of his shirt with one hand and his arm with the other. Like he weighed nothing to her, she threw him discus style into the wall twenty yards away. He slammed into it hard enough to crumple the plaster. He didn’t get up again. Nicole was too focused on Waverly to spare him a second glance. Was it the light in here, or were her eyes red?

Before she could get a good look, Waverly suddenly doubled over, clutching her head as though in pain. Nicole barely had time to process before something cracked against the back of her own head. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious and unaware of Waverly’s fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for you patience with this one, y'all. I'll do my best to not let posting the next update slip my mind. I appreciate you reading! If you have questions, hit me up at thecarlonethatalsowrites on tumblr.


	5. Chapter 5

Nicole awoke with a pounding migraine radiating from the back of her head. She opened her eyes and immediately slammed them shut. The light streaming through the uncurtained window burned. So it was mid-morning, at least. How much did she have to drink last night?

The brief glance of the room she had was unfamiliar. She wasn’t in her own bed. Where was she? There were too many questions, too few answers. The more she tried to make sense of last night, the more confused she became. Her headache was making it difficult to think. The pain was so acute she reached back to soothe it. Her fingers brushed against a definitive bump that smarted at her touch. As soon as it did, memories of the fight flashed behind her closed eyelids. 

Waverly!

Nicole sat up immediately and regretted it as she became lightheaded. She swayed in place for a minute before the fuzziness lifted. She shoved off the blankets pooled around her waist and set her feet on the floor. Cool wooden boards chilled her bare feet. There was no carpet. Working up the courage, she slowly cracked her eyelids. The first thing she noticed was that the small room was unfurnished save for the twin bed she was sitting on. The second was that someone had dressed her in an oversized set of flannel pajamas.

This was a lot of information for Nicole to process. Damn her headache.

Nicole started off by peeking out the window to see if she recognized where she was. She got an eyeful of trees, trees, and more trees. She had no idea where she was. Maybe the rest of the house would give her more clues. Nicole padded to the door as softly as she could, wincing as the floorboards creaked beneath her steps. Her training as a cop made her pause with her ear pressed against the door. It was better to know if she was going to step into an awkward or dangerous situation than blunder in unwittingly. 

The tension left her body as soon as she registered two familiar voices coming from the other side of the door. Waverly and Wynonna were talking. It was a relief to know she wasn’t kidnapped. Nicole reached for the door handle, confident it was safe to leave the room.

But when she tried to turn the doorknob, she found it wouldn’t budge. She furrowed her eyebrows, in too much pain to logically figure out what was going on. She tried jiggling it again to no avail. Only then did she realize she was locked in.

Nicole fought off a wave of panic. Wynonna and Waverly were out there, right? This was all just a big misunderstanding. If she listened in she would find out what was going on. She pressed her ear to the door and strained to make out their words.

“I can’t believe you took her to Shorty’s, on the Harvest Moon of all times!” Waverly cried.

“Listen, I needed backup,” Wynonna said.

“Bullshit. I didn’t see any sign of Hetty all night.”

“Alright, fine! I brought her for backup and to introduce her to the whole idea of the existence of supernatural beings. I thought maybe if we eased her in it could smooth things over with you two and you’d be happy for once.”

“Wynonna, you saw what happened. She could have gotten hurt worse than she did, or something...else could have happened.” A chill ran down Nicole’s spine. What the hell were they talking about? Supernatural creatures? She didn't like the sound of the "something else" Waverly was talking about.

“She was with me, and you were right there, and we had Dolls if things got really rough. She was perfectly safe with us protecting her.”

“Oh, because I would have done a great job of protecting her. You saw me in there! Nicole saw me too, which is why you  _ kidnapped her _ . I was a monster, and I was stupid to think that anything could change that. That medicine barely stopped me from losing it completely. Not even you would have been able to stop me.” Nicole jumped as she heard a thud from the other side of the door. Waverly wasn’t a monster. She protected her and Wynonna last night. Nicole couldn’t have her thinking that way, so she pounded her fist on the door.

“Hey, Earps!” She shouted. “I’m kind of locked in here.” The voices hushed immediately, and the silence stretched out. “Hello? You’re not going to leave me here, are you?” The fear came unbidden to her mind. The window was too small for her to climb through, so the door was the only way out. She forced it away, distracting herself by listening for a response. She could just barely make out a whispered conversation.

“You go get her.”

“Me? She’s less likely to kill you!”

“Well, you’re the one in charge!” She heard the soft smack of flesh on flesh, quickly followed by another.

"You're the one who gets the googly eyes!"

“Guys!” Nicole piped up, worried the argument would spiral out of control. Then she’d be locked in for who knows how long, and she was starving. She could smell food coming from outside. At this point, she didn’t even care why the Earps locked her up, as long as they fed her breakfast.

After a moment, Nicole heard footsteps approaching the door. A key slid into the lock, and then the doorknob turned under her hand. The door swung inward. Nicole took a step back to keep from being hit in the face, but the door didn’t open as far as she expected. It only opened enough for Wynonna to peek her head in.

“Before you get mad, I’m sorry I had to knock you out,” she said. Nicole squinted in confusion.

“Is that what this killer lump is from?” Her hand went to the back of her head. Wynonna winced.

“Uh, yeah. Why don’t you come into the kitchen.” She opened the door fully now that she was secure in the thought that Nicole wasn’t going to kill her. Nicole followed her around a sharp turn into a cramped and somewhat ramshackle kitchen. 

The appliances looked like they had seen better days, and the counters were stained by so many different spills Nicole could barely tell what the original color was. It smelled faintly of mildew underneath the fading scent of breakfast. A table took up most of the floor space, which was a testament to how claustrophobic the kitchen was. It looked like it could seat only five, maybe six people. The surface was scarred and in need of a paint job.

Waverly sat on one of the rickety chairs around the table, her hands wrapped around a cold mug of tea. It had been a while since it was poured and Waverly barely touched it. If Nicole thought she looked like she had a rough night, Waverly looked ten times worse. There were deep shadows under her bloodshot eyes, and she slouched in her seat. Nicole had never seen her with anything other than perfect posture, even during their movie nights.

She slowly dragged her empty gaze from her mug to Nicole. She blinked a few times as though trying to shrug off her lethargy. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, because Wynonna started the conversation like a bull entering a china shop.

“First of all, sorry we kidnapped you. Won’t happen again,” she said, just a little too cheerfully for Nicole to feel completely comfortable. “We have painkillers if your head hurts.” She pushed an unopened box of medicine and a cup of water toward her, which Nicole readily accepted. “Anyway, I’m sure you have questions. Waverly and I are happy to answer them.”

“Wynonna.” Waverly snapped. She inhaled deeply, and when she spoke again her tone was calmer. “Why don’t you sit down. We have toast.” She pushed a plate toward the chair closest to Nicole. It just happened to be the farthest from Waverly. Nicole slowly took a seat. She ignored the toast, even though she was starving.

“So, how much did you see last night?” Wynonna asked, depositing herself into a chair. Nicole thought back, recalling her experience and slowly reciting it out loud.

“It was a costume party,” she said, “that I’m starting to think wasn’t a costume party at all.” The sisters nodded. “We were looking for your perp. But then a fight broke out.” She looked at Waverly, who had been avoiding her gaze. “You threw someone twice your size across the room. Then, I guess you hit me?” She turned to Wynonna. “And I woke up here. Even though I have no idea where here is. And I’m starting to realize that maybe I’ve stumbled on a whole supernatural conspiracy.” Saying it out loud sounded insane. Nicole half wondered if she had a concussion. But no, she knew what she saw. This really was real.

“This is our safehouse,” Wynonna said. “I will say, you are taking this all remarkably well.” She must have seen the resolve in Nicole’s expression.

“My dad was always sure you guys were out there,” Nicole said absently. Was he right all along? The possibility of his name being cleared in her mind at least sparked the curiosity he instilled in Nicole. “So, what kind are you?”

“Woah there. Bit of an intimate question, don’t you think?” Wynonna held up a hand.

“It’s better if we just show you,” Waverly said. “I know you think you believe, but you wouldn’t really unless you see for yourself.”

“I guess we bring in the Doc,” Wynonna said. She raised a hand to her mouth and whistled.

From the next room over, Nicole heard the clacking of nails on the hardwood, similar to the sound of a dog. But it wasn’t a dog that walked into the kitchen. She leaped out of her chair as a giant brown wolf padded into sight.

“That is a wolf. That is a wolf! Like, an actual wolf. That is a wolf.” She pointed at the beast as if her words weren’t clear enough. She wanted to look at Wynonna or Waverly for reassurance that it wasn't about to eat her, but she was too afraid to take her eyes off of the wolf. It’s snout twitched and it let out a terrible choking sound. Nicole jumped as it did.

“Doc, you’re freaking her out,” Wynonna said, though she was stifling a laugh. Nicole realized that was what the choking noise was. She barely had time to process when all of a sudden the wolf started moving in ways it shouldn’t have been able to. Its bones popped, its skin rippled. The limbs spasmed and the hair melted away to reveal pale skin as the wolf stood upright. Although, not a wolf. A man. A fully naked man with a bushy mustache. Nicole was too gay for this. Her gaze shot to the ceiling.

“Deputy,” the man tipped an invisible hat. His hand clenched into a fist as though he was expecting there to be one and was disappointed to find empty air. He broke eye contact, expression lighting up when he saw a brimmed hat on the counter. It was snugly on his head a moment later. “I do feel naked without it.” Odd expression, seeing as it was the only clothing he wore at the moment.

“Alright, now that you’ve seen it,” Wynonna said, “Doc, get out of here. You’re scaring her with your nudity.” Doc held up his hands defensively before shuffling out.

“Werewolves?” Nicole said weakly. She sank back into her chair.

“Would you like another demonstration?” Wynonna made as if to take off her sweater. 

“No!” Nicole said, a little too empathetically. “No.”

“If you’re sure.” Wynonna shrugged. “Demonstration portion of TED talk, done-zo. Question time is a go.” Question time? Nicole had so many she didn’t know where to start.

“Which movie got the most correct?” Nicole asked. It would help her sift through her own preconceptions. Wynonna looked taken aback at the question.

“I hate to say it, but I think Twilight,” she said. “Minus the whole cultural appropriation thing.” Nicole stared blankly. She’d never seen Twilight, a sin in the pop culture world. Maybe she should, though from what she heard it didn’t sound very appealing. Maybe just for research purposes, she could slug through it.

As she was considering this, Waverly groaned quietly. Nicole watched with concern as she bent over her tea. One hand left the mug in order to pinch the bridge of her nose. Nicole half rose out of her chair to try and help, but when she realized what she was doing she sat back down, as painful as it was to do so. She had to watch helplessly as Waverly’s shoulders tensed in pain. Her fingers clutched her mug so tightly it shattered, sending lukewarm tea everywhere.

“Sorry, sorry,” Waverly groaned. “I can’t—it’s the—ugh.”

“Easy there,” Wynonna said. Her hand hovered over Waverly’s shoulder, trying to comfort her without touching her. “I’ll get a rag. You should be in bed.” She stood up and peeked her head out of the kitchen on her way to the sink. She summoned the same bouncer who was at the door last night into the room. His bulk filled the small kitchen, but he was efficient in getting Waverly to her feet. Before Nicole could process what was happening, he and Waverly left the kitchen.

“Sorry about that. Full moons are pretty rough on Waverly,” Wynonna said, drawing Nicole’s attention away from the doorway Waverly and Dolls exited out of. Nicole set about picking up ceramic shards from the table. She could see now why the surface was so scared.

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Yeah, eventually. Yesterday was especially bad because it was the Harvest Moon. Lots of supernatural creatures feel a strong pull during full moons, but for some reason, the Harvest Moon is the worst.”

“It’s not bad for the rest of you?”

“It’s not great, but we didn’t unleash ourselves like Waverly did. As far as I know,” Wynonna said.

“Waverly said you were in charge,” Nicole said. She hoped Wynonna would hear the question in her statement.

“That’s right. You’re looking at the newly reinstated alpha of the Ghost River Pack.” Wynonna gestured to herself smugly. “Waverly showed up with them a few weeks ago to pass leadership onto me. About time, she reckons.”

“So you do have alphas. I thought they proved that was a myth for wild wolf packs.”

“Well, it is a myth but we still have them. ‘Alpha’ is really just a title for the leader of a pack that stuck around because of humans. It’s a hereditary position.” Wynonna nodded to herself. “You’re asking the hard questions, I’m impressed. I wasn’t expecting the “are you going to eat me”, but still.”

“I have another question,” Nicole said quietly. She deposited the ceramic fragments into the trash as she considered how to phrase it. “Did you really only introduce me to your world for Waverly?” Wynonna paused in mopping up the tea.

“Not just that, although Waverly is a big part of it. She wouldn’t want to put you in any danger you wouldn’t know about, and she’s forbidden by pack law to tell you explicitly. However, if you were to find out on your own — with a little push from an alpha who can bend the rules — that would be a different story.

“That’s not the only reason, though. You’re getting closer to my work, a lot of which involves hunting down supernatural creatures. We were unfairly putting you in danger you didn’t even know about. Plus, it helps the pack to have friends in high places. Not that I only want to use you because you’re a sheriff's deputy.”

“Of course not,” Nicole said dryly.

“Look,” Wynonna said, “I’ve been a pretty shitty alpha for the past couple years. The least I can do is make some friends in high places that can benefit the pack.”

“But we were friends before Waverly brought the pack to Purgatory,” Nicole protested.

“The fact that I like you has to be hidden behind layers of secrecy. Otherwise, you’d let it get to your head.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s you, Wynonna.” She rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. So now you’ve kind of gotten the rundown, will you start spending time with Waverly again so she won’t be so mopey?” Nicole fought to control a sudden blush. She had no idea what Wynonna thought the nature of their relationship was, but she was sure it was exaggerated in her mind.

“Uh, isn’t she sick, though?” A flimsy excuse at best.

“I meant when she feels better, dummy. You can pick her brain about all kinds of pack stuff, she’ll love it. Especially if your old man was into this stuff. You might know as much as her if you listened to him at all.”

“I’ll...talk to her.”

“That’s the spirit.” Wynonna slugged her in the arm. Nicole had to bite back a grunt of pain. Super strength was apparently one of the perks of lycanthropy. It seemed like this was her life now. She was in too deep to back out. The idea didn’t upset her as much as it probably should have.

* * *

 

It took three days for the shakes to subside. Three days for Waverly to feel normal again. Her rage bubbled as the monster clawed for freedom. What looked like a fever from the outside was a battle for her soul on the inside. Whatever tincture she received from The Blacksmith wasn’t enough to help her resist the power of the moon, but it sure was enough to make giving in a bitch of a time. Not that Waverly told anyone she was that bad off. It was her own damn fault she was in this situation. She could get herself through it.

Waverly just hoped she hadn’t ruined everything by exposing herself.

Everything had been great up until the fight. She’d never spent a Harvest Moon free of a cage. Sure, it was a risk since she didn’t quite know how the tincture affected her. It was totally worth it. The beast’s screams were nearly muted, and it was such a relief Waverly was able to ignore it entirely.

Then Nicole walked into Shorty’s wearing that gorgeous black dress. Her heart flipped at the sight and Waverly had a whole new problem on her hands. How was she going to keep from staring at Nicole all night? She didn’t think she did a good job of it, even though she had her actual job to distract her. Her only consolation was that she caught Nicole staring right back.

So, of course, she was going to give her all when the fight broke out. Her instincts screamed that there was only one way to protect the people she cared about. And Waverly listened to them.

Stupid. She was so stupid. Listening to her instincts was a surefire way to disaster. She almost went completely feral and was pretty sure only the tincture prevented her from Changing outright. It didn’t keep her contained entirely, though. All she could bear to remember was the need to tear flesh and bathe in blood. She didn’t want to remember if she actually killed anyone.

It may have taken three days for the sickness to subside, but it took nearly a week for her to work up the courage to text Nicole. Halloween came and went, surely a busy time for Nicole at work. Waverly didn’t want to admit the real reason she put off calling her. She couldn’t bear it if Nicole thought she was a monster. She seemed to take the news well enough, though Waverly hadn’t been entirely lucid when they broke it. She could be forgetting an entire series of events. Or things could have gone downhill after Dolls took her away. 

Waverly had to do a lot of begging and pleading to keep Wynonna from spilling the whole story. Werewolves were scary enough. Unstoppable, bloodthirsty, mutant dire wolves were even worse. Waverly wouldn’t blame Nicole for running from the first, let alone what she was. Wynonna made her promise to tell Nicole everything once Nicole had gotten used to the idea of Purgatory being overrun with the supernatural. Wynonna hadn’t agreed to Waverly’s terms out loud, and Waverly had no way of knowing what they discussed after she left. And that scared her more than anything.

Overwhelming her intense fears was the need to make sure she wasn’t going to lose Nicole. Which was how she found herself sitting in a cafe waiting for Nicole to arrive barely an hour after she texted her. And that meant talking through the situation like real adults. How gauche. She almost wanted to run and hide, but she had to at least try to talk things out. At least the tea here was good.

Despite how hot they were, Waverly had already gone through her first and was nervously sipping on her second when Nicole arrived. She nearly choked on the liquid when she saw her. To cover it up, she set the paper cup down with more force than necessary and rose halfway out of her seat. Nicole returned her small wave. She headed toward Waverly’s table, chosen specifically for being in the back and out of the way. This place was pretty crowded for a Wednesday afternoon, and Nicole had to squeeze her way to the back, trying not to bump into anyone carrying a hot drink.

“Hey, Nicole!” Waverly said, her voice a bit too bright. Damn it. All her practice muttering the greeting under her breath went to waste. She really didn’t want to mess this up by saying the wrong thing.

“Hi,” Nicole said. She pulled out the chair opposite to Waverly. “Is this for me?” She gestured to the second cup on the table.

“Yeah. I didn’t know if you wanted anything, but I remember the tea you like so…”

“Tea is great.” Nicole took a sip. It had cooled just enough to drink.

“I’m surprised you could meet me in the middle of the day like this,” she said for lack of anything better. Nicole shrugged.

“It’s my day off.” Waverly couldn’t help a small flutter of hope in her chest. This was important enough to her that Nicole would spend her day off with Waverly? That had to account for something, right?

“I thought we were overdue for a talk. You know, about,” she lowered her voice, “sensitive matters?”

“In the middle of a crowded cafe?” Nicole said at the same volume. Coming from her it sounded absolutely comedic and not at all serious.

“I didn’t know if you’d want to meet in a place where I could, you know, murder you and get away with it.” Nicole’s face paled and Waverly winced. That was definitely the wrong thing to say.

“If you think I’d be an easy target, you’re wrong,” Nicole said. “I don’t care what kind of crazy creature you are. I’m not going down without a fight.” It took Waverly a moment to realize she was joking. When she did, a laugh bubbled out of her throat. It was somewhat forced, but if Nicole was cracking jokes then she couldn’t have been too freaked out.

“You know, I thought this was going to be really awkward, but it’s not actually that bad,” Waverly said.

“In the grand scheme of things, yours wasn’t the worst secret that was kept from me,” Nicole said.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to sugar coat it. I know I lied about a huge thing and that wasn’t cool. Especially since we’re...close.”

“At least it was a good lie,” Nicole said. “You should hear what the d&ds tell us at the station.”

“What? ‘It’s medicinal, officer.’”

“‘Your machine’s gotta be broken!’” They both laughed at the stupidity of other people. The easy camaraderie didn’t last as long as Waverly would have liked. Their chuckles trickled off and it was silent once more. Waverly felt like she should break it, but Nicole beat her to it.

“I saw you,” Nicole blurted out. “That first night when you brought the pack to Purgatory.”

“Ah,” Waverly said. “Yeah, I saw you, too. I was hoping you’d think we were a pack of wild dogs.”

“It sounds terribly ironic, but I was actually watching Wolf Man at the time.”

“You weren’t!” Waverly exclaimed.

“Cross my heart.” The banter fell flat now that they breached the heavy topic. “Uh, Wynonna kind of ran me through the whole thing.” Waverly’s blood ran cold. Wynonna wouldn’t have spilled her secret after she begged her not to, would she?

“I’m sure it was...very academic,” Waverly said hesitantly. 

“She does have a way with words.” Nicole nodded subconsciously. “She told me about the effect of full moons and the rule of secrecy. Gave me a rundown on how the community doesn’t implode. But she said very little about why the pack is in Purgatory and left me on my own on how the whole...thing...works.”

“Well it’s not like in the movies where we turn into mindless beasts every full moon,” Waverly said. It was a half-truth. Not all of them did, was more accurate. “The urge to change is a little stronger then, but it’s manageable. And we turn into actual wolves, though it’s easier to say four-legged and two-legged forms since we’re not actually wolves or humans despite how we look. Those of us who were born with the...condition...have a little easier time controlling it. Those who are infected have a harder time at first.”

“How do you get, uh, infected?”

“Blood on blood is guaranteed, being bitten is like 50/50. And not everyone inherits the gene, though it’s rare not to if your parents have it.” Nicole nodded and Waverly paused to let her digest the information. 

“Why were you kicked out for so long? I know you guys have the safehouse, so why couldn’t you stay there?”

“Well, that was a transition of power thing,” Waverly said. “See, I was acting alpha for years before we went to find Wynonna. Even though we’re rational beings, we do have animalistic instincts. It was best if I made myself scarce while Wynonna asserted her dominance.”

“Is that why the pack came to the city? To look for Wynonna? Why did you need her, if you were there to lead?” She asked. 

“It’s more like we were forced,” Waverly said. “See, where we’re from there are two packs. There’s mine—I mean, Wynonna’s. We’re the Ghost River Pack. Then there’s the Devil’s Triangle Pack.” She couldn’t help but furrow her brow at the thought of them. “We share the same territory, but they’re different from us. Feral, my daddy said, and dangerous to humans and werewolves. My great-great grandfather made it his mission to protect the world from them. He tried to eradicate them, and we’ve feuded ever since. 

“It was a pretty even fight until my daddy died in a territory skirmish. See, pack leadership is passed down to the next Earp Heir, so my oldest sister took charge. She was killed barely two weeks after Daddy. Transitions of power are extremely dangerous, and it was worse that it happened twice in such a short time. On top of that, Wynonna wasn’t ready for the responsibility of leadership, which I don’t blame her for. She ran, and I had to lead. But everyone knew I wasn’t a true alpha, including the Devil’s Triangle Pack. We held out for a few years until they attacked without mercy because we were weak. Almost finished us off, actually.” Waverly couldn’t keep her hands from shaking as she recalled that terrible battle where they nearly lost their lives and Curtis actually did. She tried to keep the story light for Nicole’s sake, but her words were weighted by the memories.

“Waverly, I’m so sorry.” Nicole reached across the table, taking Waverly’s shaking hands in her own. Waverly welcomed the sturdiness for a moment before clearing her throat to continue. She didn’t want to read too much into the gesture.

“Anyway, we fled to Purgatory for two reasons. One, Wynonna was here. And two, we hoped the Devil’s Triangle wouldn’t risk an all-out pack war under the noses of humans. So far, it’s worked, and we’ve used this breather to heal.”

“Wait, you’re not going back to that, are you?” Nicole asked.

“It’s kind of our inherited duty.”

“Waverly, that’s insane. I’ve seen yours and Wynonna’s scars. How long have you been fighting these guys for?”

“My first change was a 16, which was kind of late. But my first battle was maybe 12?” Waverly screwed up her eyes, trying to remember. There had been so many, it was hard to think of a time she wasn’t fighting. She barely noticed Nicole’s grip on her hands tightening until she spoke up.

“You mean you were fighting monsters before you even knew you were one of them?” She asked, her voice deadly. 

“It’s what the Earps do.” Waverly shrugged.

“That’s...barbaric,” Nicole spat. Waverly was taken aback by the ferocity of her tone. She was touched by Nicole’s protectiveness, but extremely glad she left out the part that her nature is the same as their rivals. If she told Nicole her role in the fight, she wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye. 

“It’s what we do,” Waverly repeated. Her voice was barely a whisper at this point. Like she was trying to convince herself along with Nicole.

“Um, speaking of that,” Nicole said. The fire had died from her voice, and she drew back her hands. Waverly shivered as she lost the warmth. “I have a confession. Since you’re being so honest with me, it’s only fair I’m honest with you.”

“You’re scaring me a little.” Waverly forced herself to chuckle. Nicole’s mouth quirked in a poor approximation of a smile. It faded quickly.

“So, this isn’t exactly my first rodeo when it comes to the supernatural,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ve had hard evidence. But not the first time I’ve heard of it.” Waverly waited as patiently as she could. The other shoe was about to drop, she just knew it. “My dad was a cop. He would sometimes come across these...impossible cases. Instead of letting it go, he became obsessed. Our attic was a mess of red yarn and outlandish research. It totally consumed him. Cost him his job, his health. In the end, he didn’t even have a family. He drove us all away.”

“That’s terrible,” Waverly said.

“I always listened just to humor him. I never thought people like you would actually be out there.”

“From your experience, I’d guess you know it’s not as glamorous as the movies make it seem.”

“You’d be right about that.” Nicole looked down at her tea. “I never wanted to believe because I didn’t want to end up like him. But now I know he wasn’t crazy. Well, he wasn’t seeing things that weren’t there. Anyway, I thought you should know. I’m not in the dark about everything.”

“Just most things,” Waverly said teasingly as she raised her drink to her lips. It earned her a small smile from Nicole.

“Just most things,” she agreed.

Waverly felt a surge of relief when it seemed Nicole wasn’t going to ask any more questions. She accepted everything so readily. Waverly prepared herself for the worst, building up tension inside her as she did. Now it all flooded out, unused. She slouched in her seat, suddenly exhausted. She didn’t realize how tense she was about this. Nicole knowing about the pack was a huge weight off her shoulders. She didn’t have to hide that secret anymore. The fact that she was a dire wolf was a tiny one to bear in comparison. Now wasn’t the right time to reveal it, not since the Harvest Moon was passed and she had her tincture to control the beast. She could wait until the time was right.

“So now that all that is out of the way,” Nicole said, “there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Waverly sat up ramrod straight. The tension she let go of flooded back to her. She nearly crushed her coffee cup with the strength of her grip.

“Yeah. It sounds really trivial after everything we just went over. But I still wanted to broach the subject. Since we’re already here and all.”

“What is it?” Every minute Nicole delayed made Waverly more and more nervous. God, why couldn’t Nicole meet her gaze? She must have seen something that night, something that scared her so badly—

“I want to know where we stand!” Nicole blurted out, interrupting Waverly’s wayward thoughts.

“Where we stand?” Waverly repeated slowly, trying to gain meaning from her words. When she realized, it was like being struck by lightning. “Oh, yeah. We haven’t talked since…”

“Since I tried to kiss you,” Nicole said, unsuccessfully fighting a blush. She held Waverly’s gaze steadily despite it, seemingly over her initial bashfulness.

“Right.”

“It’s just — well you know where I stand. I like you, and I realize everything is way more complicated than I originally thought. But that doesn’t mean that — what I’m trying to say is — urg. I wouldn’t ask you to be someone you’re not. But if you do — like me back — that’d be...neat.” Nicole rubbed the back of her neck. Her blush was heating up even after she finished talking. 

She was so adorable it took everything Waverly had to keep from confessing all the feelings she had bottled up inside her. She almost let them out, considered it for several heartbeats too long. But fear niggled in her mind in the form of a ravenous, bloodthirsty monster.

“I do like you Nicole,” Waverly said slowly. “I really do. And maybe if things were different on my end…” if she wasn’t keeping a deadly secret, even after supposedly telling Nicole everything. “It’s just too complicated. I mean, it’s not you that’s complicated! It’s literally everything else.” She watched Nicole’s face fall and scrambled to fix it. All her words were coming out wrong, and while there was no easy way to let Nicole down Waverly wanted to do it in the best way possible. 

“I get it,” Nicole said, interrupting her word vomit. “There’s not really a place for me in your world, is there?” Waverly’s brow furrowed. How did Nicole translate all that into exactly what Waverly was trying to say, even though Waverly didn’t even know what she was trying to say? She was just like that. Straightforward and smart and perfect.

“Not a place you would like,” Waverly said. Nicole nodded. “But we can still be friends.”

“Even after everything you’ve told me? It’s not like I can go back to living in ignorance.”

“Well, no, but...ugh, why is this so hard?” She pushed her cup out of the way to rest her forehead on the table with a quiet thud. 

Nicole didn’t answer her question, though Waverly wished she would. She wished she had more than just problems to bring to the table. She didn’t want to lose Nicole. Knowing the truth didn’t help the situation, instead, it only made things harder. Nicole now knew that she was in so much deeper, was in more danger than she ever thought. What kind of sane person would stick around after that, even if they only kept to the peripheral? 

Waverly didn’t get to follow that line of thinking any further. Her phone chimed and she blindly reached into her bag to get it. She glanced at the screen without lifting her head from the table.

“Oh, shit!” She bolted upright when she read the message. “I totally forgot, I have to go!” Dolls texted her wondering where she was. They were scheduled to work this evening, and Waverly was all the way across town. Her chair screeched against the floor as she stood, making her wince.

“O-okay. I guess we’ll talk later?”

“Yeah, later!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ginger is finally let in on the secret. Well, most of the secret. Hope you liked this chapter! I have a pretty good idea where I want this to go, so probably two more chapters and an epilogue? We'll see if I can write it all on time, but just know that I know what's going to happen in this fic. Thanks for reading! As always, come yell at me about it on tumblr if you're so inclined


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I know it's TECHNICALLY wednesday. BUT I haven't slept so for me it still feels like tuesday, so this chapter IS up on time. It was not easily written, but I'm pretty happy with the result. I hope you all are too :D

With all the things that have come to light recently, being friend zoned should be the least of Nicole’s worries. The existence of werewolves, minotaurs, and who knew what other crazy shit, all going on right beneath her nose was the biggest bombshell she could possibly imagine.

It didn’t distract her from the ache she felt whenever Waverly crossed her mind.

Nicole knew there was a risk in putting herself out there. It was better than skirting around delicate topics, in her opinion. Bottle something up for long enough it would explode under the pressure. So yeah, being vulnerable had its risks. Nicole just thought it would have its rewards, too.

She could have sworn that there was  _ something _ there between her and Waverly. Sure, she may have made a mess of it with that first attempt. And Waverly was hiding an uber, major, super huge secret. But with everything on the table, Nicole thought there wouldn’t be anything holding them back.

She thought wrong. Waverly was too hung up on the dangers of her world. Rightly so. Once, Nicole would have dove headfirst into it, ready to learn as she went, augment the knowledge she already had. After the debacle at the club, witnessing first hand just how wrong things could go, Nicole had to do some serious thinking whether she wants to be a part of this world or not.

Would Nicole ever truly understand the danger she was putting herself in? Probably not, she admitted to herself. With her dad, the supernatural had degrees of separation. It was manageable, a bedtime story, even. When explained by Waverly, it was academic. A first-hand account, yes, but still sterile. That ferocity at Shorty’s though...Nicole had never felt so helpless in her life. The sheer power around her must be what it felt like to be shipwrecked during a hurricane. Nicole was weak and soft in the face of all that fury.

Then again, she didn’t face it alone. Wynonna was there the whole time, just like she promised. And Waverly had their backs. And both sisters trusted Dolls, which was good enough for Nicole.

Maybe that was the whole point of a pack structure. If so, Nicole would much rather be in their good graces than have to face the storm alone.

With that Nicole made up her mind. The choice wasn’t difficult. It was surprising how long it took her to figure it out. The Earps were her friends, and Nicole didn’t abandon her friends. Especially not when she was just as invested in their world as they were, even if they didn’t believe her yet.

* * *

 

Nicole pulled up to the homestead, parking her cruiser between Wynonna’s truck and Waverly’s jeep. The hood of the jeep was open, though Nicole couldn’t see Doc leaning over the exposed engine until she pulled up next to it. He looked completely baffled by the machine in front of him. He rubbed his chin, leaving behind smudges of grease. Nicole shouldered open her door and Doc finally looked up. His pleading expression was such a clear cry for help Nicole would have laughed had she known anything about cars. Unfortunately, she was as clueless as he was and could only offer a sympathetic shrug.

An unfamiliar woman barged out of the safehouse before they could exchange a greeting. “I found the socket wrench, though its missing most of the sockets. With our luck, they’ll probably be the ones we need. We may as well give it a shot,” she said. She pulled up short when she noticed Nicole standing with one hand still on the open door of her cruiser. “You must be Nicole.”

“That’s right,” she said. “I’m afraid you have the advantage over me…”

“Rosita.” She sauntered over, swinging the wrench with a casually limp wrist. Her grip was firm, however, and Nicole pushed away the fear that it would come flying at her head. Rosita was obviously comfortable with tools.

“Nice to meet you,” Nicole said. Rosita grunted, distracted by the jeep. She braced her free hand on the edge of the frame.

“You make any progress during the five seconds I was away, cowboy?” She asked Doc. Her words were accompanied by a teasing hip bump.

“Darlin’, you know I can barely make heads or tails of the  _ exterior _ of this vehicle. My knowledge as to what’s under the hood is even more limited.”

“Well, at least you can admit your failings,” Rosita sighed. “What about you, Deputy? Know your way around an engine?”

“I barely know how to check my oil,” Nicole said. Rosita’s eyelids slammed shut, as though she was gathering the strength to speak.

“If we’re relying on just my knowledge of cars, it’ll take a miracle to get this rustbucket running again,” she said, her eyes snapping open as she glared at the engine. “If I can dissect and label an entire DNA strand at a molecular level, this should be cake.” Her words were more of a brave face than actual confidence. Nevertheless, she leaned over the engine with her wrench in one hand and the yellowed owners manual in the other.

“If you are inquiring after Waverly, she’s not here at the moment,” Doc said distractedly to Nicole. His mustache twitched as he watched Rosita bang around under the hood.

“I’m actually looking for Wynonna,” Nicole said. Doc looked up in surprise.

“ _ That  _ Earp is in residence. She’s up to something or another.” He rolled his eyes. “She and Dolls are just inside. Go on in.” Nicole gave him a curt nod of thanks before making good on his invitation.

The front door only opened halfway before something solid stopped it. Nicole peeked her head in and winced when she realized it was Dolls’ considerable bulk.

“Sorry!” She said. Dolls moved out of the way to let her inside. “I didn’t mean to hit you.”

“I was standing in front of the door.” He shrugged. As Nicole took him in fully, she noticed he had an exiled look about him. His shoulders hunched and he kept sending furtive glances toward the kitchen. Nicole frowned.

“Why were you standing in front of—”

“Goddammit, Wynonna!” A shout followed by a loud crash cut her off. Both she and Dolls flinched and looked towards the kitchen. She tried to lean around the corner to get a look. Dolls grabbed her shoulders gently and shook his head. There was fear in his eyes and it made Nicole pause. Right. A house full of werewolves wasn’t a great place for a human to stick her nose into a shouting match. She did have her sidearm but doubted it would help much.

As it turned out, Nicole didn’t have to go looking for the trouble, as it came looking for her. An older woman limped out of the kitchen, nearly running into her and Dolls. She glared at them, a look made all the more terrifying by still pink scars scratched into her exposed skin. Luckily her fury was directed more toward the kitchen, or it would have bowled Nicole over.

“I’m not some fragile old geezer you can keep cooped up in this house,” she growled over her shoulder. Her eyes flashed a dangerous yellow and Nicole instinctively took a step back.

“That is  _ so  _ not what this is about,” Wynonna came barreling out of the kitchen. Nicole rolled her eyes; she should have known Wynonna would be a part of this argument.

Wynonna stopped in her tracks when she noticed Nicole. “Uh, Gus, can we finish this later?”

“That’s what I am? An afterthought?” Gus scoffed. She stalked to the door, only pausing because Nicole and Dolls were in her way. “Move,” she snarled. Nicole was happy to get out of her way, but before she could take a step Wynonna spoke up.

“Don’t you dare,” she said. Her words gave Nicole pause, but they froze Dolls in place. Goosebumps rose from his skin as he shivered. He stood firm, refusing to yield to Gus’ demands, but his eyes told a different story. They were full of shock, all of it directed at Wynonna. She seemed as surprised as he was. In that moment of confusion, Gus shouldered her way out the door.

“Son of a bitch, she’s fast,” Wynonna gasped, watching Gus power her way towards the trees. Dolls spun around as well if only to avoid Wynonna’s gaze.

“Hopefully she doesn’t overdo it,” Dolls said. His whole demeanor was rigid. What was that about?

“I-I’m sorry Dolls,” Wynonna said. “I didn’t mean to—”

“We’ll talk about it later,” he grunted. His eyes flicked to Nicole, who suddenly felt very much an intruder.

“Ah, Nicole.” Wynonna rubbed her hands together. The gleam in her eye made Nicole very nervous. “Your talk with Waverly must have gone well if you haven’t gotten the hell out of dodge yet. What can we help you with?”

“Well,” Nicole started, unsure if she should bring this up right after such an intense scene. Her eagerness to offer her services won out, in the end. “I want in.” Wynonna’s eyebrows shot up and she grinned.

“Then please, step into my office.” Wynonna gave an elaborate wave of her hand to indicate the kitchen. She lead the way in, kicking a pile of ceramic shards under the fridge. Nicole stared at them worriedly, wondering what the hell had gone down in here. Wynonna didn’t seem concerned with it beyond her initial tidying up. She flopped down in one of the chairs Nicole was beginning to think of as her spot. She and Dolls pulled out chairs of their own.

“You should understand that once you’re in, there’s no backing out. You know more than most people already, which some might see as problematic,” Dolls said. “We’re happy to let you live your life knowing what you know, but if you decide to get involved you won’t be able to back out.”

“I won’t back out,” Nicole said. “I have a stake in your world, too.” Surprise flashed across Dolls’ otherwise expressionless face. It turned into satisfaction, and Nicole realized she just passed a test. She bit the inside of her cheek. Being tested constantly was tiring, but if it let her into this world she would bear it. 

“That’s good enough for me,” Wynonna said. “Especially since we need your help ASAP.”

“What can I do?” Nicole asked immediately.

“We gotta deal with some vampires, so how do you feel about infiltrating their hookah lounge to get information?”

“Wait, aren’t we worried about the spider murder?” Nicole asked. “Also, vampires run the hookah lounge?”

“Spider lady was last week, keep  _ up  _ Haught,” Wynonna said, completely ignoring her second question. Dolls rolled his eyes

“Hetty Tate was murdered by a coven of vampires who thought she was drawing too much attention to us. We found her body last night. They took matters into their own hands, which is why we need to investigate,” he explained. Nicole exhaled heavily.

“So what do you want me to find out?”

“Basically just see if they’re getting too big for their coffins. Are they planning any other power moves? Are they going to move onto blatantly killing humans or other rivals? What’s the dealio?” Nicole grimaced. Wynonna’s tone was blase, but the task probably wasn’t as easy as she was making it sound. Underestimating the danger of the nightclub was just the latest in a long line of poor decisions Nicole knew her for.

“Ok, so who’s going with me?” Neither Dolls nor Wynonna would meet her eyes. “Guys?”

“Yeah, see the thing is…” Wynonna trailed off, keeping her gaze locked on the stained ceiling. “No one?” Nicole blinked a few times, trying to make sure she heard correctly. “It’s kind of why we need you to go. You’re human, aka neutral.”

“Let me guess. You guys can’t go because of the whole werewolves vs vampires thing,” Nicole said.

“That is a misconstrued notion of popular culture,” Wynonna shook her finger wildly, “that is completely true. We hate vampires.”

“They’re not very fond of us, either,” Dolls said.

“Guess I’m eating a lot of garlic for dinner,” Nicole sighed.

“Yeah about that. There’s one thing we gotta do before you go in,” Wynonna said. “Those vamps have a bark as bad as their bite. They can glamour humans, make ‘em follow them around like a lovesick Mr. Darcy.” Dolls and Nicole exchanged a glance. “Yes you heard that right. Blame Waverly’s influence.”

“So how do I avoid that?” Nicole asked.

Dolls frowned. “That’s actually a good question.”

“I have a good answer,” Wynonna said. “You’re going to take Peacemaker. It’s protected me from them before. Plus, Dolls and I will be right outside ready to charge in to the rescue if things go south. And we can drag Doc and Rosita along, too.” Nicole grimaced, doubtful that four werewolves were enough to protect her from an entire vampire coven. Then again, it wasn’t like she was on a streak of good decisions lately.

“Please don’t let me die.”

“That can definitely be arranged.”

* * *

 

Patrol duty, to put it in Wynonna’s words, sucked major ass. And not even good ass. Frat boy after eating Chipotle for lunch and partying hard on Friday night ass. While the sheer explicitness of that description was basically artful, Waverly had to respectfully disagree. There was no farce she had to put up, no part she had to play. She could merely exist without feeling guilty for letting the pack down. Wandering aimlessly in the woods served a purpose that only required her to be physically present.

It was an incredible change of pace from worrying if they were going to live another day or die a horrible death. And now that she didn’t have to stress so much about turning into a bloodthirsty monster, being alone in the woods was absolutely cathartic. 

Of course, there was always the possibility that she could run into something that would try to kill her. The thought didn’t bother Waverly as much as it should have. By now all the leaves were long dead and fallen. She would hear the crunch of someone approaching long before she got herself into trouble.

Back when her daddy was still the alpha he insisted no one go out on patrol alone. He may have been cruel, but he wasn’t stupid. Waverly agreed with his philosophy for the most part. She always felt guilty breaking the rule he drummed into her head from the time she was twelve to when she turned nineteen. But she’d rather no one get caught in the crossfire between her and some enemy.

Now that she had the tincture, that might have to change. She no longer had such easy access to her third form, the form that gave her such an edge in a fight to the death. Still, she hadn’t gotten around to testing that yet. She may as well throw herself into a life or death situation to see if she could do it without the call of the moon. That probably wasn’t a healthy approach, but it was the one that Waverly chose.

As her thoughts swirled in her mind, the forest atmosphere shifted from the peaceful air it had a moment ago. Goosebumps raised on Waverly’s arms as she was suddenly aware she was not alone. She froze, straining her senses to try and pick up on what exactly was wrong. She heard bare branches cracking together, swayed by the wind. The dry rot of leaves swirled in her nose, masking the scent of anyone who could have been approaching. Waverly was just about to Change when the wind shifted, carrying a familiar scent. Her shoulders relaxed from where they were tensed up near her ears and she set off in the direction of the wind, making sure to crunch enough leaves and sticks to save Gus the panic Waverly just experienced.

She came into view a few moments after Waverly went looking for her, panting and leaning against a tree to stay upright. A spike of concern shot through Waverly. They were far from the house and with Gus’ recent injuries and the fact that she wasn’t a young woman anymore, there was no way Gus should be out here.

“Just stopping to catch my breath,” Gus panted as Waverly paused a respectful distance away. Her words were an invitation to approach.

“There’s a rock over here that would make a good seat if you want it,” Waverly said as she stepped forward. She broached the topic hesitantly, unable to hold it back. Seeing the woman who practically raised her in pain was one of the worst things Waverly could imagine. The feelings of guilt it aroused weren’t pleasant either.

“Alright. But only for a minute.” With great effort, Gus pushed herself upright and shuffled to the boulder Waverly pointed out. She eased herself onto it, her joints creaking audibly. It couldn’t have been very comfortable, but it would at least let her catch her breath. 

Absently Waverly took off her scarf and wrapped it around Gus’ neck to fend off the cold. She wasn’t wearing a coat, and even for a living furnace, it was cold outside. Gus hummed in appreciation, the most acknowledgment Waverly would get. It would do, Waverly thought as she settled cross-legged on the forest floor. She felt a bit like a child again, sitting at Gus’ knee with the forest enveloping them as they spent a few hours away from the wrath of Ward Earp. The new scars on Gus’ skin and the heavy responsibility on Waverly’s shoulders ruined the illusion somewhat, in most ways not for the worse. Back then time in the forest was a bright spot in a cloud of darkness. The cloud was still over them, but it was different somehow. They were freer and in more danger than ever, out there in the world. In this bubble, they were safe for the moment.

“It’s pretty cold to be wandering the forest without a coat,” Waverly spoke up, breaking the spell. Gus raised an eyebrow.

“Remind me again who raised who?” Waverly grinned sheepishly. “I couldn’t stand another moment being cooped up in that house with everyone hovering around like I’m about to break at any moment.

“Can you blame us?” With sickness brought on by infected wounds only recently abated, Gus was barely on the road to recovery. Gus practically raised most of them along with Curtis, doing their best to make sure the young ones didn’t suffer the cruelty of their alpha without any kindness to soften the blows. She was the closest thing to a mother most of the pack had. Of course they would worry over her.

“No, I can’t blame you. But you have no idea how sick and tired I am of being an invalid. You of all people should understand.” She jerked her chin at Waverly to emphasize her words. Waverly wrapped her arms around her knees, staring at the ground.

“I can barely stand their sympathy for one night a year. And I’m barely lucid for that. Other times I think they think of me like a bomb about to go off.”

“That’s better than being fine China,” Gus said.

“Good point.” Waverly grabbed a leaf and started slowly stripping it down to the stem. “We all do it from a place of love, though. You’re so precious to us that if we lost you...and when we nearly did, well, it’s enough to put the mothering on overdrive.”

“I know. Doesn’t make it any less frustrating, though.” Gus leaned back, supporting herself with one hand resting on the rock. “If this was how you all felt growing up, no wonder I could never get you to do what I said.”

“Trust me, we weren’t upset at the time. Well, usually.” Waverly chuckled, remembering several incidents from when she was a kid that seemed funnier in hindsight. The older kids — Doc, Dolls, Wynonna, and Willa — had plenty of shenanigans they left Waverly out of. That’s what happened when you were the youngest. Only when Jeremy’s mother died and he joined the pack did Waverly get up to adventures of her own, since she finally had someone her own age.

“Things are so different now,” Gus said. “People change. And that’s not something I thought I’d ever hear myself saying.”

“We don’t change that much. We’re still the monsters that go bump in the night. That much at least will stay the same, even if nothing else does.” Waverly couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice, try as she might.

“Does this have anything to do with a certain human ally we’ve come across recently?” Gus asked. Waverly’s eyes widened and she quickly looked up at Gus. “I’m not blind. And you haven’t been worried about being a monster since you first Changed.” Waverly couldn’t keep the blush off her face.

“I’m not—you don’t have to worry about it. I made it clear it wouldn’t work.”

“Why?” Her response shocked Waverly. “You’re a smart girl, and we’re safe for now. Why not give happiness a shot?”

“Happiness never lasts in our world. Everyone knows that.”

“For someone so smart, you can be really stupid sometimes.” Gus nudged Waverly with her foot, light enough that it was still gentle but hard enough to shake her. “Of course we all know things don’t always work out. Doesn’t mean we lie to ourselves about what we want. Or who we want.” She leveled a knowing look at Waverly.

“What do you do when they leave you, though?”

“Do they ever leave?” Gus tapped her chest over her heart with her forefinger. “Curtis is here. My sister is here. She’s in yours, too, because she may have abandoned us but she was still your mother. And Willa wasn’t kind to you, but you still loved her. Everyone else you love and will eventually lose are there, even now. That’s the secret. They don’t actually leave you, and you never leave them. Best leave them with good memories rather than bitter ones.”

“That’s very wise,” Waverly said.

“Don’t you say that. I’m not wise, because then that would make me old,” Gus chided. Waverly pressed her lips together to fight a smile.

“Then you’re smart.”

“You had to get your brains from somewhere,” Gus said with a grin. It morphed into a wince halfway through, and she reached to massage her aching wounds. “I’m smart enough to know this chill is going to make my bones ache if I stay out much longer. And you shouldn’t be out here alone.” Waverly opened her mouth to argue. “Even though you can tear things twice your size limb from limb. Now help me up.”

Waverly acquiesced to Gus’ demands, pulling herself off the forest floor and helping her off the rock. The walk back was slow since they took an easy pace for Gus’ sake. Waverly was a little surprised she made it this far away from the safehouse by herself, though it evaporated when she remembered that this was the woman who raised Wynonna. She and her sisters got their birthright from their father and their iron will from their aunt and mother.

They approached the safehouse with plenty of time before sunset, coming up on the back of the house. Even with her senses suppressed, there was a distinct lack of scents from the pack. It was rare for everyone to be gone all at once, especially without communicating the fact. Since no one told her they would be gone it made Waverly tense instantly. She scanned for movement in the windows and opened her ears to anyone who might have been approaching. Gus found the lack of activity eerie, too. She instinctively maneuvered so that she and Waverly were back to back. Nothing was going to get the jump on them.

Waverly cautiously led the way around to the front, still searching for any signs of life within the house. Nothing. The moth-eaten curtains were limp, there were no bangs or thuds or shouts. It was just...still. She gave the house a wide berth as they circled toward the driveway.

Her tension shifted into confusion when she saw the only cars parked out front were the dying jeep and...a police cruiser? Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Nicole’s.

“I was worried, but now I’m just confused,” Gus said. She broke away from their two-person formation, intent on entering the house. She climbed the porch stairs and reached for the door handle. “What in tarnation is—AH!” At her shriek, Waverly was already half Changed. She barely managed to contain herself as her brain caught up to her body. “Jeremy, how many times do I have to tell you not to  _ lurk around  _ like that.”

“Sorry Gus,” Jeremy said, still inside the house and out of visual range from Waverly. From his tone, he must have been doing some serious groveling poses.

“You should be. My heart can’t take it so well anymore.” She glanced back at Waverly. “Come on in. Maybe we can get some answers from this boy.”

“So where is everyone?” Waverly asked when the door shut behind her. She subconsciously crossed her arms. Even though she didn’t mean it as an intimidating gesture, Jeremy still gulped. Waverly quickly uncrossed her arms, projecting a more neutral aura. The last thing she wanted was to terrify her best friend, even though he was scared of pretty much everything.

“Can we uh, start with an easier question?” He fiddled with the sleeve of his sweater, making brief eye contact with first Gus, then Waverly, then back again.

“Why is there a police cruiser parked out front?” Gus questioned.

“You think that’s easier?” Jeremy gave her an incredulous look. Waverly sighed.

“How are you, Jeremy?”

“Finally, someone with manners.” His arms jerked awkwardly as he spoke. He swallowed again at the  _ who do you think taught you manners in the first place _ glare Gus sent his way. “I-I’m fine, Waverly. How are you?”

“Fine. Why are you so nervous? Did you blow something up again?” She became much more nervous as the possibility wormed its way into where she kept her fears piled in her brain.

“No! No, I didn’t blow anything up. And that was one time, and it was an accident!” He ran a hand through his hair. “No uh, they um, left me behind to hold down the fort?”

“They?”

“Wynonna and Doc and Dolls and Rosita. Oh, and Nicole.” Waverly’s eyebrows pinched together, trying to work out the meaning of Jeremy’s words.

“What was Nicole doing here?” Was what she landed on.

“And where did they all go?” Gus added.

“Wynonna needed her to infiltrate a hookah bar full of the vampires that murdered Hetty Tate. I think Nicole wanted to talk to Wynonna anyway,” Jeremy said.

“ _ What _ ?!” Waverly cried in outrage.

“Don’t be jealous. I’m sure it was all business.” He patted her shoulder in his awkward yet comforting way. Waverly barely heard him.

“She wouldn’t send her in alone. She’d be helpless.” Ok, that wasn’t exactly true. But it wasn’t like a standard issue police pistol would do much good against an entire coven of vampires, who also happened to hate Nicole’s only supernatural allies. Wynonna wouldn’t have any choice but to send her in alone. “Why the hell are they sending her in the first place?”

“To figure out what the vampires are planning. It should be interesting. Last I heard they had a bunch of Europeans join their coven.” Seeing the look on Waverly’s face, Jeremy switched from his blase way of comforting her. “It’ll be fine. Nicole’s like super tough and she has backup. What could go wrong?” Both Gus and Waverly glared at him.

“You can’t put that idea out there. Now you’ve said it, something will surely go wrong,” Gus said. Waverly buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath that rocked her very frame.

“There’s nothing we can do but wait. I really hope this isn’t a half-cocked Wynonna plan…”

* * *

 

Nicole really should know better by now than to go along with a half-cocked Wynonna plan. It was the most reliable way she’d found to end up running for her life while covered in blood.

Ok, maybe that’s only happened once, but she was living it right now and there hasn’t been a happy ending for her to look back on and laugh about yet. 

For now, she pressed herself as flat to the bed of Wynonna’s truck as she could while an honest to god werewolf cowboy was next to her taking potshots at the vampires pursuing their fleeing vehicle with ease, even though they were on foot. She clutched desperately to Doc’s leg because even though he was standing in the back of a truck going sixty miles an hour he was still the most solid thing back here. 

Nicole squeezed her eyes shut as they bounced over a pothole, convinced she and Doc were about to go flying. Doc steadied himself with one hand against the roof of the cab. Nicole was the only thing keeping him anchored to the vehicle, which was less than reassuring seeing as she was using him the same way.

“Wynonna they are still following!” Doc shouted. He just barely managed to shoot a vampire that tried to jump onto the truck. She let go with a scream that was cut off as they sped away. Nicole could barely hear anything over the rush of wind. “I cannot hold them back much longer!”

“Hang on, old man!” Dolls’ voice was equally torn by the wind as he shouted through the opening in the back window. “She’s doing evasive maneuvers!”

“Shit!” Doc instantly dropped to the floor, just barely avoiding Nicole. He wasn’t a moment too soon. Almost before he was prone the truck jerked one way, sending him rolling into Nicole. She slammed against the wall and combined with the crushing force of Doc next to her it nearly took her breath away. Doc didn’t get the chance to apologize before they were being flung the other way and their roles were reversed.

Nicole was well past the point of feeling sick before the swerving slowly leveled out and the wind stopped whipping so intensely. She and Doc slowly sat up, staring wide-eyed at each other in light of their own near-death experience at the hands of their allies. His mustache twitched as he met her gaze.

“You have a little,” he gestured to his own neck, “ah, nevermind. We can rectify the situation back at the safe house.” Still, Nicole reached up to wipe away the sticky brown blood he indicated. Not that it did much good. The one and only vampire she managed to stake before everything went to shit spurted blood all over her. She definitely needed a shower.

“That could have gone worse,” Wynonna said as she pulled up at the safe house.

“I think the word you’re looking for is couldn’t,” Rosita said. “Who told you could drive? I’m going to be sick.” She hunched over, dramatically resting her hands on her knees and dry heaving the moment she clambered out of the truck.

“You’re a champ for holding it until you got out of my truck.” Wynonna patted her on the back as she moved past to lower the tailgate for Nicole and Doc. “Doc, good job not letting them kill us. Ginger Spice…” Wynonna shook her head and tsked in disappointment. “You couldn’t have staked more of them while you were at it? At least that way there would be fewer to chase us.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Nicole said dryly as she schooched out of the truck. “It’s not like I was completely surrounded by bloodthirsty supernatural killers. I’m lucky I got out of there at all.”

“We’ll work on that,” Wynonna said. "Give me back my gun." She held out a hand for it and Nicole was all too happy to oblige. She unbuckled the belt Wynonna lent her and shoved it toward its rightful owner. It didn't help her much at all, except to give her a nasty shock every time one of the vampires touched her.

"That belt is too much for Madonna," Nicole said. Wynonna looked ready to snap out a witty reply, but she suddenly stiffened, taking a deep inhale through her nose. 

“Ah, shit. Waverly’s back, and she’s pissed. You better not let her see you like this. Go home and get cleaned up. We’ll send someone over in a bit just in case those vampires track you down for some revenge. Though, I’m not sure how they would serve you cold, Haught,” she mused. Nicole blinked at her a few times before sighing and deciding her advice was solid if poorly delivered. As much as she wanted to see Waverly, she was too tired to face her wrath, especially when she found out this whole endeavor was partially Nicole’s idea.

“Ok. Catch me up on the fall out later,” she said. Her cruiser was steps away, and relief washed over her at the feeling of being in the driver's seat. That was the last time she would ever find herself in the truck bed during a high-speed chase.

* * *

 

Nicole’s blue house at the end of the street was something Waverly became extremely comfortable with in the weeks she stayed there. Too comfortable too quickly, in fact. She should have known it would all blow up in her face. But now that it had, Waverly truly had nothing left to lose. 

She thought that was the case just this morning when secrets clogged her throat and paralyzed her limbs and kept her from reaching for the first thing she found herself wanting in a very long time. That was before a near-death experience and a metaphorical kick in the ass from her aunt. It was clear to her now that if she didn’t go after what she wanted the regret would outweigh her fear like it always did.

Regret hadn’t hit yet, though. Waverly found herself standing awkwardly at the end of Nicole’s driveway trying to psych herself up to get past the fear.

“Come on, Waverly. What are you waiting for? You’ll be dead in the ground before you even knock at this rate.” Nicole’s neighbors were probably starting to think she was an absolute creep at this point.

When Wynonna asked someone to stay with Nicole in case of vampires, Waverly jumped at the chance to her sister’s great surprise. Wynonna had some inkling of their fall out. She had no idea that Waverly was planning on using this as her chance at reconciliation. Although, did it count as reconciliation if she wanted to completely change the nature of their relationship?

She was thinking too much. No more. She’d done plenty of thinking, it was time to act.

Waverly marched up the driveway and clomped onto Nicole’s porch. She debated walking right in — she knew where Nicole kept a spare key under the flowerpot near the door — but decided it was better not to ambush Nicole. She knocked instead, listening to Nicole move around on the other side before finally opening the door.

“Hi,” she said, giving a nervous little wave. Nicole was in a comfortable t-shirt and sweatpants, her long hair loose for once and still damp at the ends from a shower. She looked tired, and it made Waverly second guess herself until she spoke up.

“Hi.” Nicole stepped back from the doorway, inviting Waverly inside. Waverly squished her doubts as she passed over the threshold. Already she’d spent too long indulging in them. “I didn’t expect, uh that is to say I didn’t know Wynonna was going to send.”

“I-I asked her to send me. Not that I need permission to come to see you, but someone was going to go on guard duty and I wanted to talk to you so I thought why not kill two birds with one stone?” Waverly had to clasp her hands in front of her to keep from gesticulating wildly. She paced a few steps into the house before she turned to see Nicole’s wide-eyed expression.

“Listen, I didn’t mean for today to—” Waverly didn’t let her finish. She closed the distance between them with long, purposeful strides and forcing Nicole to back up until she ran into the closed door. Waverly didn’t stop there. She pressed herself against Nicole to trap her against the door, rising onto her tiptoes and placing her hands on Nicole’s shoulders for balance. Her shirt was damp from her hair. They were so close, but she didn’t bridge that final gap.

“Tell me you want this,” she breathed. She could feel Nicole’s shaky exhale. Watched her eyelids flutter as her gaze flicked down to Waverly’s lips. There was desire flickering in eyes, or maybe it was just Waverly’s wildest hopes and dreams projected there. She couldn’t help but keep talking. “Because I really, really want this. But only if you do.” Damn all these words. Why did they always have to get in the way? Waverly rocked forward and the tip of her nose brushed Nicole’s, but she couldn’t bear to bring herself any closer. This was the most open and honest she’d been in years, and she couldn’t take that last step forward.

Instead, Nicole did that for her. She barely had to angle her chin before she was kissing her more softly than Waverly deserved. That first kiss was relief, and Waverly might have collapsed if Nicole’s arms hadn’t wound around her waist. It wasn’t Waverly’s first kiss, but it was the first kiss that really, truly mattered. She pulled her close, all while still kissing her. Waverly moved one hand from Nicole’s shoulder to cup her jaw. If it just so happened to guide them into more passionate territory, well, Waverly wasn’t going to complain.

And of course, it was too good to last. She barely noticed one of Nicole’s arms leaving her waist until her hand was clutching Waverly’s wrist and pulling it away from her face. She couldn’t really pull away, being pressed into the door and all. She pulled up and stopped kissing her, and Waverly dropped back onto her heels. She almost let mortification wash over her until Nicole started talking.

“What happened to friends?” She gasped.

“Screw friends,” Waverly said immediately. 

There was a moment when they both stared at each other, out of breath and still so, so close. It was agonizing for Waverly to be pressed to Nicole in nearly all the ways except the one she wanted to be. Nicole studied her face, probably looking for any sign of hesitation or regret, when Waverly worried that she was too late and that her advances were no longer wanted. 

It was over almost immediately. Nicole leaned back down to kiss her again. She pushed off the door with gentle determination, and this time it was Waverly who allowed herself to be pushed back. Not once did Nicole stop to break the kiss. Not when she pulled Waverly’s hand still clasped in her own to her chest. Not when Waverly snaked her arm around her neck. Just wonderful, ardent kissing.

So ardent, in fact, that she ran Waverly right into the back of the couch. Waverly let out a little yelp, her fist balling into the front of Nicole’s shirt and her arm bracing across her shoulders to keep her balance. Nicole’s wide brown eyes flashed with concern until they were suddenly both giggling. They pressed their foreheads together as the laughter sprang from their chests, strange, uncontrollable laughter.

“Why did that take so long?” Waverly asked, unable to stifle a grin that made her cheeks ache.

“I seem to recall it could have happened a lot sooner,” Nicole said.

“If I got my head out of the sand.”

“Yeah, it was buried kind of deep.” Waverly drew back in false annoyance. It couldn’t have possibly seemed genuine with the way she was smiling, just as Nicole’s teasing didn’t have any bite in it for the same reason. She couldn’t go very far with the couch boxing her in. She didn’t mind it anyway, especially as the silence stretched. 

The mood became something more serious as Waverly remembered what gave her the final push to take this leap of faith. Now she wasn’t worried about that, she could better take in Nicole for signs of the day's events. There was a small cut over Nicole’s right eye from the chaos. Waverly gently brushed her fingertips over it. Nicole didn’t flinch away but rather leaned into the touch.

“That was really dumb.” Waverly didn’t have to elaborate for Nicole to look chagrined.

“Would it help if I said it was your sister’s idea?”

“No. I’m still peeved you did it.”

“Well,” Nicole said in the way she spoke when she was getting an idea. “Can I distract you in any way?” Waverly knew exactly what she was doing. She knew, and she fell for it anyway. She pushed Nicole away and slid from her grasp regretfully. It was worth it, though, as she circled the couch, to watch Nicole’s face fall momentarily before Waverly grabbed her hand and pulled her along. A gentle push had Nicole seated in front of her. Waverly took the opportunity to slide into Nicole’s lap, knees planted in the cushions on either side of Nicole’s hips. By then the grin was back on Nicole’s face.

“I think there’s something you can do,” she said as she leaned in for yet another kiss. Nicole responded eagerly, her hands falling respectfully low on Waverly’s thighs. Waverly wound her fingers in Nicole’s hair, not realizing how badly she’d been wanting to do that until just now when it was loose and available.

Admittedly, it was very easy for Waverly to lose track of time while kissing Nicole. They made out on the couch for what felt like an eternity, though Waverly was too swept up in the tidal wave of emotions to care. Aside from the filthy things she was doing to her mouth, Nicole kept her touch appropriate. Waverly tried to extend the same courtesy, even though her restraint was tested when Nicole ran her hands up Waverly’s back. Even though it was over her shirt Waverly had to suppress a shiver. This want, this need she felt for Nicole rose in her as the beast did, yet it didn’t make her scared in the same way. It was so opposite, intoxicating in a good way. She could very easily become addicted to this feeling.

“Ok, wait, wait.” Nicole pulled away as Waverly started playing with the hem of her shirt suggestively. She was breathing heavily, hot breath clogging the air between them. Her scent made Waverly swoon, making it difficult to get ahold of herself. “I don’t want this to go any further.” Waverly pulled her hands from Nicole’s shirt the instant those words left her mouth. They hovered in midair between them for a few moments before Waverly smoothed them over the more neutral territory of Nicole’s shoulders. Her hands came to rest on Nicole’s biceps.

“Why does one of us have to be the sensible one?” She groaned, burying her head in the crook of Nicole’s neck.

“That is a very good question,” Nicole said.

“You’re probably right, anyway.” Waverly bit her lip. There was still desire coiled in her chest she wasn’t ready to let go of yet. “We could just keep making out?”

“What, like teenagers?” Nicole asked, though her tone wasn’t entirely incredulous. Waverly grinned against her neck.

“Is that a problem?” She placed a soft kiss there, and another, and another until she was peppering her way all the way back up toward Nicole’s mouth.

“N-no ma’am,” Nicole said breathlessly just as Waverly’s lips met hers. 


	7. Chapter 7

The last thing Nicole expected to happen yesterday was to have a near death experience at the hands of vampires, then be ambushed by Waverly Earp almost as soon as she got home. And then make out with her like their lives were normal and they didn’t have any bigger picture to worry about. As she slowly came to consciousness, she expected it all to be a dream. But before she could even open her eyes, she received confirmation that it wasn’t.

First of all, she slept on her own couch last night. It was comfortable enough, but not something Nicole made any habit of doing. Second, she was up way earlier than she normally would have been on a Sunday. The sun glared through the window at an ungodly angle, burning Nicole’s eyes even through her eyelids.

Then there was the reason she was woken up so early; Waverly extricating herself from Nicole’s arms, doing her best not to wake her up. Nicole was a light sleeper and they were so squished together on the couch it was basically impossible for Waverly to avoid jostling her. Still not fully awake, Nicole clung to her more tightly, afraid that if she left that would be it. Her memories would really be just a dream if Waverly slipped from her arms.

“I have to get up,” Waverly whispered.

“No. Stay,” Nicole grumbled. It made Waverly laugh.

“I never would have pegged you for a grumpy morning person,” she teased

“I won’t be if you stay.”

“I have to pee.” Nicole cracked open one eye to examine her face. Waverly had one hand on Nicole’s forearm, gently working it loose. It was touching how considerate she was, seeing as Waverly could chuck her across the room with ease. No amount of physical force Nicole could apply would stop her. “I’ll be right back.”

“Very well.” Nicole relaxed her grip and Waverly slid away. She heard the bathroom door shut and groaned as she rolled onto her back. Now that she was awake, she may as well get up. She hissed at the shock of ice when her feet hit the floorboards. Gritting her teeth, Nicole stood up and padded to the kitchen, intent on fixing something for breakfast.

She had just decided when Waverly slipped into the kitchen. Her touch on Nicole’s waist made Nicole jump, so silently did she approach. The glowing smile on her face quickly calmed Nicole, who drew Waverly in for an embrace.

“Morning,” she said.

“Morning.” Waverly tucked her head under Nicole’s chin. It was ridiculous and cliche how perfectly she fit there. Nicole couldn’t help pressing a kiss to her hair, which was perfect despite the fact that Waverly just woke up. Great hair must have run in the Earp family.

“I was thinking french toast for breakfast.” Nicole phrased it like a question to which Waverly hummed in affirmation. “Cool.” She kissed Waverly’s head again before loosening her embrace. Waverly pulled away as well, though her arms lingered a moment too long.

Nicole was suddenly embarrassed at her displays of affection. Sure, they made out for quite a while last night, but they hadn’t talked about...anything, really. She busied herself with setting out ingredients, worried that if she stood still for a moment they would sink into a bog of awkwardness.

“How did you get here?” Nicole asked to break the silence. “I saw Rosita and Doc working on your Jeep. Did they get it running?” She glanced out the window, not seeing any cars in her driveway other than her cruiser.

Waverly sighed. “They think it might be dead for good. I, uh, I ran here.” Nicole nearly crushed the egg she was holding.

“Oh. Cool.” She quickly cracked it against the edge of her bowl so she didn’t make a mess. It splashed only a little, and Nicole tossed out the shell. “Gotta love werewolf endurance.”

“Yes, we do,” Waverly said with a smirk. She wiggled between Nicole and the counter, staring up at her suggestively. Nicole gulped, holding her hands well away from Waverly. They were still dripping with egg. She had a feeling Waverly was talking about more than just running.

“I want to kiss you,” Nicole blurted out. She snapped her jaw shut, too late to stop the words from leaving her mouth.

“You don’t have to ask,” Waverly said. She stretched up to give Nicole a quick peck, spinning away from her before Nicole could process what was happening. Nicole stayed in the same dumbstruck position, her hands hovering over the sink dripping egg whites. “I’m going to go check outside for anything supernatural.” Nicole shook her head, laughing quietly to herself.

“Waverly Earp, you’re going to be the death of me,” she said, more to herself than Waverly. Still grinning, she rinsed her hands in the sink. She wondered if Waverly would like her special french toast recipe, with vanilla and cinnamon.

She was just drying off her hands when the front door opened and shut, only moments after it did the first time. Nicole was about to call out to ask Waverly’s opinion on plain or special french toast when she barreled into the kitchen without preamble. All signs of teasing and joking were gone from her face. She went straight for Nicole and dragged her to the floor, out of view of the window.

“You need to listen and do exactly as I say,” Waverly said, her voice tinged with fear. “Get your dad’s knife. Lock yourself in the bathroom and don’t come out until someone from the pack knocks. I called them, they’re on their way. _Don’t_ answer for me. Do you understand?”

“What's happening? What are you going to do?” Nicole asked. The pained expression that crossed Waverly’s face made her wish she didn’t.

“Please, Nicole,” Waverly’s voice was barely a whisper. “Please don’t fight me on this.”

“Alright,” Nicole said after a moment. She squeezed Waverly’s shoulder before rising up into a half crouch to stay out of sight as she beelined to the picture shelf. She grabbed the knife, and though she couldn’t see how it was a better weapon than her gun she trusted Waverly. Plus it was closer. She risked a glance over her shoulder, watching Waverly move in a similar way toward the front door. Nicole backed toward the bathroom, a million questions racing through her brain. She wasn’t about to ask them, not when Waverly was so serious.

Nicole made it to the bathroom door when she heard a pained gasp from Waverly. She spun on her heel to check on her, and what she saw made her want to dash to her side.

Waverly was hunched over in pain, having to lean against the wall for support. Nicole watched her body jerk uncontrollably as something _changed_. At first, she thought it would be like when she saw Doc change, that Waverly would make a smooth transition to four legs and stand guard by the door. But something much worse happened. Instead of changing all the way, it seemed as though Waverly got halfway there, then stopped. Golden fur sprouted on her arms and face and her hands turned pawlike, tipped with claws. Her face shifted so it was more snoutlike than not, and sharp teeth poked their way out of her mouth. And her eyes began to glow red.

Nicole was paralyzed, even as her front door was broken down like it was made of cardboard. The first vampire never stood a chance with Waverly waiting in ambush. She plunged her hand into his chest, claws helping her tear through his flesh. A moment later she tore his heart right out. He didn’t get a chance to scream before he turned to dust. Waverly let out a challenging half-growl, half-roar, and Nicole was rooted in place as the rest of the raiders flooded into her home.

There were five including the one Waverly killed. One was another vampire, the terror of whom paled in comparison to the three others with the same red eyes and wolflike features as Waverly. They were a lot bigger, too. If they were human they would be at least as big as Dolls. But they were not, and they absolutely _loomed_ over Waverly, who snarled defiantly at them. The only word Nicole had to describe them was monster.

Waverly was surrounded in a second. The vampire stood between her and the open doorway, a few steps away. Waverly used those steps to her advantage, building up momentum as she slammed her foot into her chest with a sickening crunch.

The vampire stumbled back out of sight just as one of the monsters lunged to bite at Waverly’s neck. Waverly raised an arm to intercept him, and his teeth sunk into her forearm instead. Blood sprayed everywhere as he clamped down hard, ignoring Waverly’s fur and tearing right through it to flesh.

Waverly howled in pain and threw her free elbow into the face of the beast who was trying to attack her from the other side. She spun, dragging the monster with his teeth in her arm between her and the one behind her. She slammed her fist into the crown of his skull and he yelped, releasing her arm as he did. Waverly grabbed him by the hair and threw him out the door where he crashed into the vampire with the caved in chest. She followed, bringing the attention of the one she elbowed with her. They disappeared from Nicole’s line of sight, though she could still hear the sounds of a struggle.

The last monster made as if to join the fray, but he paused before he crossed back over the threshold. Nicole heard him sniff wetly. With agonizing slowness, he turned on one heel and leveled his blazing red gaze directly at her. A horrible kind of grin split his face, exposing jagged black fangs that practically spilled out of his jaws. Nicole gulped, the tiny blade she wielded not seeming like much of a weapon.

He lurched toward her, long arms swinging, drooling all the while. Half his face twitched uncontrollably like he’d been hit in the head and lost control of his muscles. Nicole barely registered the sounds of the fight Waverly was in over the blood rushing in her own ears. She wanted to run as far away as she possibly could but knew that a predator like this would catch up to her in a second. Plus, she wasn’t going to leave Waverly to fight these things by herself, even if she was apparently one of them.

Seeing her not backing down, the monster intent on Nicole paused. It was only for a moment, and only long enough for Nicole’s heart to beat twice before he was launching himself at her so quickly she could barely see him.

Nicole might have screamed as she braced the knife in front of her. Or maybe it was the screams of the fight outside. But one moment there was screaming, and the next there was silence.

* * *

 

Nicole crouched on the ground barely far enough away from the body in front of her to be out of the pool of blood. Her toes were barely inches from that red edge that was drying and becoming more sticky by the moment. She really should clean that up. Just as soon as she was able to unwrap her arms from where they were hugging her knees.

Her eyes burned from staring for so long at the knife handle sticking out of the half-burned monster corpse in her living room. He was so close she could taste his rotting breath when she stabbed him. It burned and he writhed for only a moment before collapsing before her. Dead. He didn’t even get the chance to touch her.

“Waverly! Nicole!” Wynonna’s voice barely cut through the fog in Nicole’s brain. That was right. Waverly was outside, fighting for her life. Or, she was moments ago. It was quiet now, except for Wynonna calling for them.

Wynonna skidded to a halt just before the shattered door, combat boots skidding over loose splinters. She took in the wreckage with wide eyes that fell on blood and destroyed property before they fell on Nicole.

“Holy fuck, Nicole. You lived!” She said. Nicole blinked a few times, trying to process her words. “Where’s Waverly.” That was enough to jar her into action.

“She was fighting outside,” Nicole said. She peeled her arms away from her knees and did her best to scramble to her feet. Her joints cracked from being tensed for so long and she had to place a hand on the wall to avoid toppling over. “Is she not out there?”

Wynonna shook her head. “Nothing but vampire dust and corpses. Did you kill that one?” She pointed to the monster in front of Nicole.

“He just...burned,” Nicole said hollowly. “He came at me and I stabbed him. It was the knife, for some reason.” Wynonna picked her way over the debris to examine the wound.

“That’s silver. Deadly to our kind. I’m kind of impressed,” she said. She suddenly became very concerned. “He didn’t scratch or bite you, did he?”

“No.” Nicole shook her head and Wynonna sighed in relief.

“That’s good. Don’t leave it in him, you might want it.” Nicole stared at the body.

“I don’t think I…” she couldn’t finish the sentence.

“It’s gotta be you. I can’t touch it, and we have to find Waverly. I’d rather you be armed.” For the first time since she arrived, Wynonna took in Nicole’s pajamas. “I’ll get you some clothes, you psych yourself up. We go after Waverly.”

“She’s not outside?” Wynonna shook her head again.

“Two more corpses like him and dust are all.” Nicole ground her teeth.

“You’re sure there were only two bodies?” Nicole asked. Wynonna nodded. “There were four that attacked.”

“Shit. There’s no sign of the last one or Waverly. I assume she...changed for the fight?” Nicole nodded. “Then we have to find her, soon. I’ll be right back.” She dashed off, boots clomping up the stairs and muttering to herself, “how the hell did vampires get in the house?” She left Nicole and the corpse alone again.

Having something to do helped keep Nicole from the vegetable state she fell into after she stabbed the monster. She picked her way around the puddle of blood and ripped the knife from the corpse before she could give it a second thought. She was expecting to have to wipe it off, but it was as clean as it was before it killed anything. Wynonna came down moments later and threw a bundle of clothes at Nicole, which she changed into in the bathroom.

“Waverly said the pack was coming. Is it just you?” Nicole asked through the door.

“No. Dolls and Jeremy are getting rid of the corpses. Say hi, guys.” Nicole didn’t even hear them come inside, but they gave her a strained grunt of acknowledgment. Nicole imagined them hauling away the body, Dolls holding its legs and Jeremy its arms.

Wynonna continued, “I sent Doc and Rosita off on Waverly’s trail. Doc could find a dildo in a nunnery.” Nicole raised her eyebrows even though she knew Wynonna couldn’t see. “And Rosita, well, they’ll need her if they find Waverly.”

“What does that mean?” Nicole asked. She heard Wynonna curse on the other side of the door. She flung it open, ready to confront Wynonna with the questions that had been bouncing around in her head since the first moment she watched Waverly Change. “What happened here? What the hell were those _things_? Are you going to turn into one too?”

“Calm down.” Wynonna held her hands out in a placating gesture. Nicole grit her teeth to avoid exploding in anger.

“I think you at least owe me an explanation,” she said. Wynonna glanced through the broken down door, the wheels spinning in her head as she made a decision.

“Fine. But not here, it’s too dangerous. I’ll drive you back to the safehouse and tell you on the way. We were all going to rendezvous there.” She glanced at the knife Nicole was still holding. “And please don’t stab me when I explain.”

Despite the recent trauma, Nicole experienced at the hands of Wynonna’s driving, she climbed into the passenger seat of the blue truck. She felt a little odd about leaving her house such a mess, but Wynonna propped the smashed door back in place as best she could and promised to send someone by to take care of the rest of it.

“So what’s really going on?” She asked as they peeled out of her driveway. Her dad’s knife was laid across her lap. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“We didn’t really explain how the whole werewolf thing actually works,” Wynonna began. She was driving with both hands on the wheel for once, and her grip made her knuckles white. “Most of us have two forms, two-legged and four-legged, and we can Change at will.

“However, there’s a rare gene that allows some to transform into a third, in-between form. We call them dire wolves, and they’re pure evil killing machines. They’re nearly impossible to put down since their bodies can take fatal wounds and basically ignore them until they stop working entirely. It’s also incredibly difficult to control unless you have something strong to anchor from.” She paused, waiting for Nicole’s reaction.

Nicole felt the spring that coiled in her chest since Waverly dragged her to the kitchen floor wind even tighter. Deep down she knew where Wynonna was headed with this, but she couldn’t let herself think it.

“Is that what Waverly is?” Nicole asked, her words barely audible. She already knew the answer, of course. What Wynonna described was exactly what she witnessed.

“Daddy was so excited when she made her first Change. We weren’t expecting her to Change at all, it was so late,” Wynonna continued. She laughed mirthlessly. “Can you believe it? We thought she was first Earp in five generations who didn’t inherit the curse. Then it turned out she got it worse than all of us.” She rubbed her right wrist as if to soothe an old ache. Nicole knew there was an old bite wound there. The evidence was in the scars. The way she was telling this story...it couldn’t have been Waverly who caused them, could it?

“Anyway, Waverly went from being useless to the perfect weapon. A prerequisite for Devil’s Triangle Pack is that you have to be a dire wolf. So what better way to fight fire than with fire? And if it made Willa and I feel extra pressure to work hard to not be overtaken by our baby sister, even better.”

“He sounds like the real monster,” Nicole said.

“Who, Daddy?” Nicole nodded. “You’re right.” They fell silent, letting the scenery pass at a frightening pace. Wynonna wasn’t following any speed laws, and Nicole couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. It took her many miles to find her voice again.

“They took her, didn’t they?” She asked.

“Probably.”

“Why?”

“Because we took Rosita,” Wynonna said. “Well, she voluntarily joined us after a falling out with their alpha.” She glanced at Nicole out of the corner of her eye. “We’re going to get her back, I swear.”

“We don’t even know from where,”

“We’re going to find out.”

* * *

 

Waverly barely remembered being dragged through the woods after the fight. In this form, time was difficult to comprehend. She could hardly bring herself to care about anything other than primal instincts, and right now her instincts were screaming in pain. Her whole body hurt, aching from various wounds, and being dragged through the forest by her ankle wasn’t helping. It was all she could do to hold her form, for if she Changed back she was likely to succumb to her injuries, and she doubted her captor would stop to make sure she didn’t die.

The monster who was dragging her wasn’t much better off, and Waverly took disgusting pleasure when his hot blood dripped onto her skin. She caused those wounds. She didn’t go down without a fight. Just like Daddy taught her.

Eventually, the dragging stopped. Waverly gazed up at the sky, too dazed to even take in her surroundings. She could hear and smell other creatures like her, but her body’s defense mechanisms wouldn’t let her focus on the physical. She was in enough pain so as to be barely conscious even in her dissociated state. She couldn’t imagine what the agony of having to bear the full brunt of that pain would be like.

“Enough!” A single voice cut through the fog in her mind. The command in its tone was enough to still even Waverly, who wasn’t subject to its rule. “Let me see her.” Boots crunched over frozen dirt, and then the face that haunted Waverly’s nightmares loomed over her. Blurred as her vision was, she would recognize this face anywhere.

Waverly let out a weak snarl as it sank closer. She tried to spit in his face, though her mouth wouldn’t cooperate and it ended up a bloody drool out the side of her mouth. Bobo smoothed a heavily ringed hand over his already pristine mohawk and tsked in disappointment.

“When I said bring her to me in one piece, that didn’t mean bring me a bloody pulp,” he growled. The injured dire wolf who had been dragging her whimpered and shrank away, still in his inarticulate form. He also couldn’t risk Changing back. Not if he wanted to stay upright. “Constance. What can you do about this?” Another voice, shrill and womanly, echoed around the clearing. It didn’t have the same presence as Bobo’s, so Waverly couldn’t tell what it was saying. But all of a sudden, the fog lifted and she was hit with the full force of her injuries. It made her gasp

“She’s not going to die now, at least,” the voice said. That sentence combined with the resurgence of pain made Waverly realize that the fog she felt wasn’t her body pushing away pain. It was her body shutting down, dying.

“Put her in the pit until she heals up. Then I want to speak to her.” Strong hands grabbed each of Waverly’s arms, and then she must have blacked out.

The next thing Waverly was consciously aware of was darkness. It was different than the darkness of unconsciousness, and the transition threw her off. It was cold, too, and just a little bit damp. A few weak slits of light glowed high above her. There was dirt beneath her and under her fingernails, and her skin was caked with dried blood.

She tried not to move to avoid tearing open any of her injuries that were barely starting to heal. She didn’t feel half as bad as she did before, but she was still in no shape to fight. With that thought, she realized rationality had come back to her. She was back in her two-legged form. It must have been several hours since she passed out if she could bear being awake in this fragile form. Her body healed just enough that she could bear consciousness.

“So you’re awake.” The disembodied voice croaked out of the darkness. Waverly’s eyes were beginning to adjust, and she could see a shadowy figure to her left. “I thought you were dead.”

“Mattie?” Waverly groaned. Her throat felt like sandpaper and it was a struggle to shape the words. “What are you doing down here?”

“What are you doing down here?” She fired right back. Her breath rose in a cloud from her mouth. “Old enemies have come to town to revenge old debts. Looks like you got caught up in them, too.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Maybe a day. It’s hard to tell with the only light being what slips through the cracks.” She pointed upward at the pit cover, which was really nothing more than a few 2x4s roughly nailed together.

“I killed them,” Waverly whispered, staring up at the cover. “The ones who came for me. It’s unforgivable.”

“Yeah. You’re screwed.”

“Thanks.”

“When they threw you down here, you were different. Haven’t you been taking your tincture?” Waverly squeezed her eyes shut. She was trying to block out the memories of last night. Memories that made her happy, weak. She couldn’t be weak if she was going to get out of this in one piece.

“I didn’t take it before they attacked,” she said. “Don’t worry. I don’t think I can Change even if I wanted to. You’re safe, for now.”

“I was hoping you’d be able to put me out of my misery,” the Blacksmith said. Waverly squinted in the dark. She could just barely see her limp form propped up against the wall of the pit.

“What did they do to you?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not long for this world,” the Blacksmith said. “That Stone Witch is a nasty piece of work.” Her words made Waverly’s blood run cold.

“Shit, the Stone Witch? She’s in Purgatory?” The Blacksmith nodded. “This is a disaster.”

“You’re telling me. For once, I wouldn’t mind your pack’s interference with our business.” Her eyes closed in exhaustion.

Before Waverly could question her further, the pit cover above them scraped aside, flooding the hole with light. She saw the Blacksmith’s illness wracked form, horrible in full light, then the end of a thick rope fell between them. Waverly’s eyes traveled along it, up to the top of the pit.

“Bobo wants to talk to the Earp bitch,” a voice called down into the pit.

“If he wants to so bad, he can come get me himself,” Waverly spat.

“You better climb before that smart mouth makes things get worse for you.”

Waverly bit down on a snarky response. In her current state, she wasn’t sure she _could_ climb the rope. There was only one way to find out. She ever so gently sat up. Her head spun as she did so, but her body didn’t ache too badly. Using the rope for support, Waverly hauled herself to her feet. Her neck craned back, taking in the climb she faced. Then she looked down at the Blacksmith, still collapsed on the ground.

“I’ll come back for you,” she said.

“Brave words for someone who might be marching to her death,” the Blacksmith scoffed. With those encouraging words, Waverly started to climb.

By the time she reached the top, she was breathing heavily. Her battered body protested every movement, and it was everything she could do to keep it moving. A few dirty, unmanicured hands reached down to haul her up the last few feet and kept her upright as she swayed near the lip of the pit. As much as she loathed their touch, Waverly was grateful they were keeping her from collapsing on the ground.

“This way.” One of the dire wolves holding her gave her a shove toward a collection of dialect trailers. Apparently, the Devil’s Triangle pack maintained property near Purgatory as well. Waverly flushed with embarrassment. They were never safe from their enemies, and she was a fool for thinking they were.

The dire wolves walked her between two trailers, presenting her in front of a cold fire pit that was in the middle of the circle. They abandoned her there, taking up positions between trailers to prevent her from bolting. Not that Waverly could have entertained the idea for long, seeing as she could barely stand. She swayed in place as she glared across charcoal and ashes at Bobo, who lounged in a folding chair like it was a throne.

“Glad to see you doing better,” he said, an insufferable smirk on his face.

“This is better?” Waverly brandished her savaged forearm that was still seeping blood. It had been gnawed down to the bone, and her accelerated healing could only do so much. Bobo’s eyes flicked to her other cuts and bruises, a modicum of regret passing behind his eyes before they hardened to coal.

“Considering what could have happened to you, yes.”

“Please, your lapdogs tried to kill me.”

“And they were unsuccessful, no?” Bobo raised an eyebrow “Besides, do you have any idea who we rescued you from?”

“You kidnapped me from my...friend’s...home,” Waverly spluttered. She hoped Bobo missed how she stuttered over her words.

Bobo laughed, a hard, mirthless laugh. “Oh, that’s funny. Don’t you think boys? One of us, friends with the daughter of Jonathan Haught? Don’t make me laugh.” Waverly bristled as he brought up their shared biology.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh, I see the name doesn’t spark any recognition in you. Surprising, seeing as you’re quite the little researcher. Allow me to fill you in.” Bobo uncrossed his legs and swung out of the chair. He rose to his full height, staring at Waverly the entire time. “He was only the most successful hunter of our kind since Wyatt Earp himself.”

Waverly had to clench her jaw to keep the surprise off her face. Nicole told her that her dad was interested in the supernatural. She just didn’t say to what extent. Or maybe she didn’t know at all. Either way, she didn’t do a good job of schooling her expression, if the look on Bobo’s face was any indication.

“Oh, yes.” His eyes fluttered shut as he relished in the angst she was displaying. They snapped open and he continued. “You never realized my true intentions. It’s always been to protect you girls. I did save Willa, though Wynonna slipped through my fingers. And I tried with you. But you always resist, and it always leads to more bloodshed than is necessary.”

“You killed Willa. You’re a monster,” Waverly said. “We don’t need to be saved.”

“But you do!” Bobo roared. “I didn’t kill Willa. She is alive, and safe from her own legacy. And I almost saved you from that undeserving bastard you called a father. You girls are goodness that was wasted on Ward. I thought once he died and Willa came to my side we could convince the others. Then, you ruined it. Declared war. And here we are.” He spread his arms, indicating the trailer park and its dire wolf residents. Waverly was silent for a long time, time she spent digesting his words.

“If Willa is alive like you said, where is she?”

“We didn’t bring everyone to hunt you down. She’s back home,” Bobo said. He extended a hand to her. “If you come with us, you’ll see her.”

“And it would cost me my soul,” Waverly scoffed. “I’ve known you for long enough. You always lie. I know you just want to use me.” Bobo’s open hand curled into a fist. He bared his teeth, then turned from her, flinging his coat out behind him.

“Why don’t you listen to what I say for once? I have given you so many chances. She won’t let me give you many more,” he said.

“Who? The Stone Witch?” Bobo didn’t answer. He crumpled back into his chair, massaging his temples as he wedged an elbow against the arm.

“You’re free to go. And you know where to find us if you wish to take me up on my offer. Hell, you can even bring your sister, if you want. But you better hurry up and decide. I won’t rein her in for long.”

Waverly stood awkwardly where she was. She didn’t move an inch. Bobo’s dismissal was clear, and it wasn’t looking like any of the dire wolves were going to move against her. But there was still the matter of her promise to the Blacksmith. As much as Waverly didn’t want to press her luck, her conscience wouldn’t let her just leave the poor woman.

Before she got the chance to broach the topic, the dire wolves preventing her escape converged threateningly. Some of them were Changed, and they were all grotesque no matter what form they were in. Waverly decided this wasn’t a battle she could win right now. She crept away, bowing her head and hunching her shoulders and showing all the right signs of submission. Inside, though, she was seething and planning. This would not go unavenged.

* * *

 

The walk back to the safehouse would have been agonizing if it hadn’t been for sheer dumb luck. Waverly put hardly a mile between her and the Devil’s Triangle camp when she quite literally stumbled into Jeremy. His eyes went so wide she was worried they would pop out of his head and he nearly dropped her when she lost the strength to stand. He held her firm as she sobbed into his chest, feeling like a numpty the whole time but too relieved to see a familiar face to halt the flow of tears. It was then she realized that when she woke up in that pit she made peace with the thought of never seeing her family again. And Jeremy being Jeremy provided a wonderful shoulder to cry on.

“It’s ok, Rosita and I will get you back to the safehouse,” he said, rubbing her back comfortingly. He was hesitant since he had to avoid scabbed over claw marks, but it made her feel better all the same. “We’ve been searching for you non stop.” Waverly sniffled and wiped her nose on her uninjured arm.

“I’m sorry I bled all over your superman shirt,” she said. Jeremy laughed.

“It’ll wash out.” He smiled. “Now you stay put. Rosita isn’t far off. Let me go get her.”

Waverly wasn’t upset by the lack of a tearful reunion with Rosita. She approached cautiously, as though waiting for the moment where Waverly would snap and suddenly try to kill them both. She appreciated the caution, even though she was too exhausted to even have to fight the monster. For once in a very, very long time, it was satiated.

They walked back with Waverly’s good arm slung around Jeremy’s shoulders and Rosita following up behind just in case anything tried to ambush them. Jeremy was deceptively strong and not once did Waverly feel like he was going to drop her.

Time stretched and blurred, and her relief made the rest of the trek pass relatively quickly. She was more relieved to see the ramshackle safehouse than she ever had been, including the time she first laid eyes on it.

They staggered up the porch, Jeremy wasting no time in shouldering open the door and depositing Waverly in the kitchen. Rosita stayed outside on guard.

“Let’s get those injuries stitched up, yeah?” Jeremy said, pulling the first aid kit from under the sink. “I know you heal up like that, but we don’t want you bleeding out first.

“Jeremy, where’s Wynonna? I have to talk to her asap.” All of the information Bobo told her bounced around in her head, burning to be let out.

“Wynonna and the others are on their own patrols. They’ll be back soon, though.” He doused a gauze pad in antiseptic, before offering her a clean rag. “You might want to bite down on this while I clean your wounds.”

She stuffed the rag into her mouth and Jeremy began the grueling and familiar process of cleaning out her wounds. He started with her arm. The stinging was so intense it made her squeal, though the noise was muffled around the rag. She threw her head back so she didn’t have to watch.

“Jeremy, what’s going on?” Waverly blinked tears out of her eyes as a familiar voice drew her attention. She lowered her gaze just as Nicole halted in the kitchen doorway. Their eyes met, and Nicole was so shocked her mouth dropped open. Waverly might have done the same if she wasn’t holding a rag there.

“Ha ‘ichole,” she muttered around it. The fibers stuck to her tongue unpleasantly, and Waverly nearly spat it out until Jeremy hit a particularly painful spot and made her bite down harder into it.

“Oh my God,” Nicole leaned heavily against the doorframe. She ran her hand through her hair, still not taking her eyes off Waverly. Jeremy cleared his throat as if finally picking up on the tension in the room.

“I’ll give you two a minute.” He ducked around Nicole and Waverly half wanted to beg him to stay, as cowardly as that was. She clenched her fists and winced as she disturbed her injuries.

“Let me take care of that for you.” Nicole rushed into the kitchen, picking up the gauze and continuing where Jeremy left off. “First aid training comes with the job.” Waverly only nodded stoically, avoiding looking at Nicole as she pressed the gauze to her arm.

On the one hand, Waverly was glad for Nicole to have something to do. It made things less awkward. On the other, her tongue burned with all the things she wanted to say. The rag wasn’t the only thing muting her, though.

Finally, Nicole finished cleaning her wound. She wound a bandage around it to keep it clean. Waverly pulled the rag from her mouth, swishing what little saliva she had left to get rid of the taste. Nicole tossed the gauze onto the table, and Waverly realized they were both wasting time putting off the inevitable.

“I’m so sorry about yesterday,” Waverly blurted out. “I’m sorry I put you in danger, and that you found out about, um, that the way you did.”

“Waverly, it’s ok. I accepted the danger when I came over here a few days ago.” Nicole took Waverly’s hands in her own, rubbing her thumbs against the back of them as she kept steady eye contact. Waverly couldn’t look away from her soft brown eyes. They made her want to be open and honest. There was no way she could hide anymore.

“Do you...do you want to talk about what you saw me do?” She asked. “I know it’s a lot.”

“Wynonna kind of filled me in,” Nicole said. Waverly’s shoulders drooped.

“I didn’t want you to see me like that,” she whispered. She cleared her throat to strengthen her voice. “As much as I try to avoid it, it’s part of who I am and it’s not something I can change.”

“I would never ask you to be something you’re not,” Nicole said immediately. It made Waverly feel marginally better, at least until she continued. “But I’m not going to lie. It was terrifying to watch.”

“I don’t use it if I can help it.” Waverly fought to keep her voice steady. “It was the only choice at the moment.”

“I know.” For the first time, Nicole looked away. Waverly’s strength failed as she did.

“I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me now.”

“That’s not it,” Nicole said immediately. “I care about you very much. I just need some time to adjust.”

“Ok,” Waverly said. She didn’t want that to be it, but what more was there to say on that topic? Besides, there was more she wanted to talk about — there were questions about Nicole she needed answered.

It was wishful thinking that they would have any more time. The front door of the safehouse slammed open, shaking the very foundation. Waverly jumped as footsteps pounded against the floorboards, bearing Wynonna right into the kitchen.

“I knew you were too tough to let ‘em take you.” Her voice was scratchy and she looked like she hadn’t slept the entire time Waverly was gone. Waverly pulled her hands from Nicole’s and dragged Wynonna into a hug, unable to find the words to encapsulate the situation. “I’m sorry we couldn’t find you sooner.”

“It’s ok,” she mumbled into Wynonna’s hair. Waverly allowed herself a moment of comfort before drawing away. “I have news. The Devil’s Triangle Pack is here, and they have the Stone Witch working with them.

“Shit,” Wynonna cursed. “Did they take you to their hideout? How did you escape.”

Waverly shook her head. “Yes, but that’s not important. Wynonna, Willa is alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I really can't just let them be happy, can I? Anyway, happy not Tuesday. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoy all of your feedback. We're in the home stretch now, and I may or may not adjust the chapter count. Thanks so much for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so about that weekly update schedule...

Something Waverly noticed about pack life was that when things started happening, they happened  _ fast _ . It made sense. With bombs dropping all around them, damage control had to be swift and decisive. A few days of frenzy often preceded long stretches of downtime, even though Waverly barely thought past tomorrow when the world was falling apart around her

She’d forgotten how frustrating it was to watch it fall apart and not be able to do anything to put it back together.

There was an air of separation between her and, well, everyone really. She hadn’t experienced that since the old pack, with Curtis and Daddy and Willa. First, they kept her out because she was the youngest, then because she hadn’t Changed, then because she made the wrong kind of Change. Waverly had worked hard to get to where she was now. All that was a moot point now.

They didn’t say it outright, but the pack didn’t trust her since her decision to Change. It wouldn’t have been the same if she used her four-legged form, but the dire wolf was what was needed at the time. 

Still, Waverly herself noticed that she was more irritable and short-tempered, side effects from the change. Alongside that, the beast nagged her more frequently, like it always did after she brought it to the surface. 

Despite all the side effects, she didn’t regret her decision, especially not since it saved her and Nicole’s lives. She could tell everyone else wished she found a different way. Most of her wounds closed up in the few days since the attack, so everyone walking on eggshells around her wasn’t because they were worried she was going to fall apart. 

It was why she sulked on the porch while Wynonna and the others were discussing their plan of action inside the safehouse. Technically, she was on guard duty. She wasn’t fooled. They just wanted her out of there, unsure whether they could trust her to keep her cool.

She jerked her head up at the sound of footsteps. A moment later the front door swung open and Doc stepped out. He slammed it harder than he needed to, then reached into his jacket with a scowl on his face. With his back to Waverly, he didn’t notice her at first as he pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his teeth. He patted his pockets for a lighter and swore when he came up empty. He spun around as if one would appear from nowhere and nearly leaped out of his skin when he saw Waverly.

“Good Lord, Waverly. You here on guard duty or to scare the skin off a well-meaning addict,” he said. He plucked the cigarette from his mouth. “Got a light?”

Waverly rolled her eyes. “You left a lighter on the windowsill.” She had picked it up when she noticed it and stuck it in the pocket of her jacket. She tossed it to him now. Doc snatched it out of the air with a wink.

“It is no matchbook, but you have my thanks.” He dragged his thumb over the striker wheel and the scent of flame filled the air. A moment later it was replaced by cigarette smoke, which Waverly wrinkled her nose at. “All quiet?” Doc mumbled around his cigarette.

“Like the dead,” Waverly said, turning her gaze to look out across the yard.

“Well, that’s awful morbid.” Doc stepped forward and draped his arms over the porch railing. He leaned over it casually, but one look at his eyes told Waverly that he was on high alert, scanning their surroundings just as she was.

“How’s it going?”

“Oh, as usual. Wynonna’s being Wynonna, and nobody will let anybody add a suggestion to the plan if their own does not go through. Just like Congress.” Doc plucked his cigarette from his mouth and waved it in the air. “I stepped out for a smoke.”

“At least you’re in there.” Waverly let the bitterness seep into her voice. Doc turned his big blue eyes to her, full of concern and something else Waverly recognized as wariness. Doc’s poker face was good and had she not been on the receiving end of many wary looks lately, she might not have guessed what it was. She had to bite down on a literal growl of frustration.

“I know it is a difficult circumstance, but this  _ is  _ for the best,” Doc said. “What with you pulling away from the pack lately. Your role has changed, and I thought that was what you wanted.”

“It was what the pack needed,” Waverly said. “I never thought you would stop trusting me because I made a decision to protect someone I—”

“We trust you, Waverly,” Doc said. “We’re worried for you. Changing twice in just a few weeks is…”

“I’m in control if that’s what you’re worried about,” Waverly growled

“You have not been yourself these past few days. Who is to say the changes are not the cause?”

“You mean the few days after I was kidnapped and nearly killed? Again? Brought face to face with the monster out to kill us all. Maybe that is going to have a lasting effect on my psyche. Or was it me killing three people that got you all worried? Because you’ve killed many more than that, John Henry.” Doc blinked and his brow furrowed.

“You can’t walk away and expect us to treat you the same as we always have. That’s not how the pack works. Not even for Wynonna.”

“You’re wrong. Wynonna gets all the chances she needs. Sure, there are consequences every time. But she still gets the chances.” Even after everything, Wynonna filled the position of alpha better than Waverly ever could. In just a few short weeks she mastered what Waverly couldn’t do despite three years of trying. She mastered Command. 

With those thoughts whirling around in her mind, Waverly faced Doc and directed all her anger at him. They glared at each other, Doc’s mustache twitching in anger. Even when she was alpha, Waverly always had the most difficulty reining him in out of anyone. Now they were on even ground, and Doc didn’t trust her. This staredown was not going to end any time soon, not with the burning fire in Waverly matched by Doc’s cool distrust.

“Uh, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Waverly and Doc blinked at the same time as someone interrupted. They were so caught up in their own struggle they failed to notice someone sneak up on them. Not good for someone who was supposed to be on watch. Especially if the person wasn’t trying to sneak up in the first place.

“Not at all.” Doc turned smoothly to Nicole, who was coming from her cruiser and had one foot on the bottom porch step. “I stepped out for a smoke, and we were just having a discussion, is all.” Nicole looked disbelievingly at Waverly. She must have looked just as discombobulated as she felt.

“Right,” Nicole said. She climbed the steps onto the porch and cleared her throat, more out of awkwardness than trying to break the tension. It didn’t really work.

That was another thing that put Waverly on edge. Nicole’s house wasn’t safe for her to return to, so she was staying at the safehouse with the pack. And she was yet another person who Waverly couldn’t look in the eye. The house was filling up much too fast with those. At this rate, Waverly would never be able to look up from the floor again.

“Is that Wynonna calling?” Doc asked abruptly, his tone suspiciously innocent. He flicked his half-finished cigarette to the dirt and wiped his hands on the front of his jacket. “I do believe it is. I’d better head back in there. You ladies have fun.” He slid past Nicole into the house. Before he could slip out of sight, Waverly mouthed  _ dog _ at him. Doc shrugged halfway apologetically before shutting the door firmly behind him.

“Either your guys’ hearing is way better than mine or he’s lying,” Nicole said. She was addressing Waverly but spoke to the door.

“He’s lying, like always,” Waverly said. For lack of anything to do with her hands, she started to pick at the gauze wrapped around her forearm. It started near her wrist and ended an inch or two below her blood oath scar. With everything that had been happening, that oath seemed like a distant memory. In reality, she only made it a few weeks ago.

“We’re going to have to put you in long sleeves if you don’t stop doing that,” Nicole said.

“That would be a travesty,” Waverly murmured, but dutifully dropped her hands to her sides. Even though it was the middle of November and cold enough that Nicole was wearing her winter jacket, Waverly was still in a t-shirt tied into a crop top and jeans. It was one of the perks of being a werewolf. She was always warm enough to wear whatever she wanted. Except at night for some reason. There could never be enough blankets, in her opinion. Aaaand she was spiraling. Great.

“They still arguing?” Nicole’s question brought Waverly out of her thoughts.

“Wynonna would call it strategizing, but yeah pretty much.”

“Do I have to go back in there?” Nicole asked wistfully.

“Depends on what you heard on the scanner,” Waverly said. “Did you hear anything about weird animal sightings?”

“Unfortunately, yeah,” Nicole sighed. “People have been calling ‘em in all over the eastern edge of the city. I think they’re moving south to surround it.”

“Well, that’s just amaze-balls.” Waverly glared at the front door. “I wish they would make up their minds. We don’t have time to waste. Clearly, the Bobo isn’t sitting around twiddling his thumbs.”

“Neither is that witch,” Nicole said. “They’re really worried about her.”

“For good reason.” Waverly hunched her shoulders as she thought of what the Stone Witch did to Mattie. She wondered if she was still alive. It’d been a few days, so probably not. “Got any monster hunting family secrets about how to deal with a witch?” Nicole flinched.

“Pour water on her?”

“Didn’t think so.”

“Oh, that is so unfair.”

“What do you mean?” Waverly ground her toe into the floorboards, wanting so badly to lift her gaze to challenge Nicole. Starting another fight wouldn’t help, though, even if that was exactly what she was doing right now.

“I mean, I know you’re angry about that. With good reason, I’ll admit. But that doesn’t mean you should be avoiding me,” Nicole said.

“I’m not avoiding you,” Waverly said. “There’s just been a lot going on.”

“Doesn’t seem like much is happening right now. For you, at least.” Nicole crossed her arms. “I don’t want to fight about it. I just want you to talk to me.”

“I don’t know what to say!” Waverly threw her hands up in the air and finally looked at Nicole. “Your dad hunted and killed dire wolves. That’s great, we deserve it. If I was mad I’d be a hypocrite, because that’s exactly what we do.”

“But you’re still mad.”

“I’m still mad!” Waverly was breathing heavily at this point, the cold air cracking in her lungs. “And I don’t know why.”

“I don’t really know how to feel about it either if that makes you feel any better,” Nicole said. Waverly quirked a prompting eyebrow. “All this time I thought he was crazy. He died alone, his efforts unrecognized. And they were good efforts, in some ways. But after meeting and knowing you, I don’t see how him committing murder was justified, especially since he wasn’t involved in any of the politics you and the pack have to face. I’m sure you felt the consequences of his actions.” Waverly blinked, realizing Nicole was way more torn up about this than she should have been.

“Honestly, Nicole. A few murders here and there wouldn’t have made a difference in the life we lead. Hell, he probably helped us as well as innocent bystanders. He didn’t bring anything on us we hadn’t already brought on ourselves.”

“But do you think he would have understood the difference between one of your pack and one of Bobo’s? What if he killed one of you?”

“He didn’t,” Waverly said resolutely. “And even if he did, you are not responsible for your dad’s actions.” Nicole let out a half-laugh half-sigh.

“Thank you. I’m sorry to make this all about me, especially with all the things you’re going through. And I’m sorry for making things weird between us. I know it's my fault.”

“Well, are things...still weird?” Waverly asked. “I mean, we’re having this conversation on a porch because I’m banned from my own living room while near certain death looms over our heads. And I’m one of the things that goes bump in the night, and you’re a cop with a legacy of hunting monsters and—”

“Yeah, things are never going to be normal between us, are they.” Nicole gave her a dimpled grin. “But, uh, when we get out of this, can I try to make things up to you?” For the first time since that night they shared at Nicole’s house, Waverly’s heart lifted.

“I love your optimism,” she laughed. Nicole grinned wider.

“Come on. Let’s go end your exile. They need you in there.” Nicole pulled the door handle and held it open for Waverly. With her solid presence behind her, Waverly took a deep breath and entered what felt like the true war zone.

* * *

 

Nicole and Waverly received several second glances when they entered the safehouse. Mostly Waverly, and Nicole kept brushing their arms together for support. To distract the others, Nicole managed to squash her report into two sentences before the makeshift werewolf war council. Two sentences were all anyone was able to speak before being interrupted, anyway. It was a wonder they managed to get anything done around here. Nicole might have thought that with death looming over them they’d forget petty rivalries. Then she realized that death was  _ always _ looming, and this was just the pack’s state of being. She might have found it entertaining if she was used to her life being threatened.

She could tell Wynonna was starting to lose it too. Even though she grew up like this, she’d been a lone wolf for too long. She wasn’t used to listening to a second, or third, or fourth opinion. And the strain was starting to show in the furrow of her brow and the set of her jaw.

It wasn’t long before she finally snapped. “Alright, enough!” It was like a wave of cold water broke over everyone in the room but Nicole. They all shut up immediately, standing stiffly. Nicole felt goosebumps raise on Waverly’s arms. “Thank you. Maybe now we can actually think a little.”

“We’ve been doing plenty of thinking—” Wynonna glared at Jeremy, who froze. The pack hardly dared to move until Wynonna spoke.

“You’re all making the same plan in different ways and can’t agree because it’s not your way, so let me spell it out for you. Our biggest threat is the Stone Witch. The Blacksmith is our best bet at beating her if she’s even still alive. Then we have Bobo and his dire wolves to worry about, and one errant Earp to find. So first things first. We need a way to rescue the Blacksmith. Waverly?” She looked shocked that she was addressed, but after a moment Waverly cleared her throat

“I bet her **** ***** **** ***. *** *** ****** ** *** ***** ***** ***.”

“I’m sorry, did anyone else just hear static?” Nicole asked. No one responded verbally, Nicole wasn’t sure if they could but gave nods of agreement.

“Shit, our blood oath,” Wynonna said. “Well, I guess that’s our job, baby girl. Everyone else, time to plan an assault on a Devil’s Triangle den.” Jeremy raised one tentative hand. “Whatchu got, nerdling?”

“Perfume,” he said. At the looks of disbelief he was receiving, Jeremy reached into his pocket. “Rosita, have a smell.” He pulled out a small vial, uncorked it, and handed it across the table. Rosita sniffed tentatively and gagged.

“What kind of foul, rotten sludge is in there?” She shoved the vial back towards Jeremy, covering her mouth and nose with her other hand as she tried to block out the scent. Jeremy took the vial back, a small grin of pride on his face

“Wynonna.” He offered it to her.

“Uh, no way.”

“Just smell it, please?” Wynonna wrinkled her nose. She pinched the vial between two fingers and held it well below her nose when she took a sniff.

“Smells like perfume to me,” she said, unable to keep the relief out of her voice. Rosita still looked like she was going to throw up, and Nicole noticed Waverly was little green as well.

“It’s shaladelle. Apparently dire wolves hate it. And it’s now our secret weapon.”

“Unexpected, but awesome. You whip up as much of that as possible while Waverly and I go get *** *********** ****. When we make it back here we move. Jeremy, Dolls, and Doc take out as many Devil’s Triangle wolves as you can. Waverly, Rosita and I will get the Blacksmith and hopefully kill the Stone Witch. If that turns out to be a dead end, we’ve always got my magic gun.” Wynonna patted the handle of her colt. “Everyone cool with that?” Nicole didn’t think they had a choice but to agree.

She was still reeling from witnessing whatever weird alpha shit Wynonna did as the pack dispersed. Only then did Nicole realize that she wasn’t involved with any of the plan. She startled before running out the door after the Earp sisters.

“Listen, I feel bad about forcing you guys to submit, but otherwise nothing would get done. I tried it the nice way, didn’t work. And that plan didn’t come from nowhere. It was made from everyone’s suggestions,” Nicole overheard Wynonna say to Waverly as they headed for her truck.

“I get it. That power is wonderfully helpful. Just be careful not to go overboard, ok?” Waverly squeezed Wynonna’s hand. Wynonna nodded firmly. With the conversation clearly over, Nicole piped up.

“Hey, Earp! What am I supposed to be doing in all this?”

“Sit tight, Ginger Spice. One way or another, this will all be over soon,” Wynonna tossed over her shoulder before slamming the truck door.

“Looks like you got Wynonna-ed,” Jeremy’s voice made Nicole jump. She didn’t hear him approach. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve all been there. Now come on, you can help me pour all this perfume into spray bottles.”

* * *

 

Having silent arguments with one’s sister was a lot less satisfying than an all-out shouting match. Waverly would have loved to exchange some choice words with Wynonna. Even though her expressions got her point across, it was much less satisfying than saying it out loud. Alas, a shouting match was rather impractical when one was trying to sneak into the middle of enemy territory with one’s sister and her broken demon killing gun, fellow bloodthirsty monster, and maybe-sort-of-not-really girlfriend in tow.

It was wishful thinking that Nicole would wait out the battle at the safehouse with Gus. In reality, Waverly knew that was never going to happen. Nicole was too fond of action, too deep into this mess to simply wait it out. So even though helping Jeremy made her smell like a trash heap to Waverly and Rosita, Waverly insisted she come with them to help the Blacksmith. 

She tried not to think about what would happen if Nicole was with them when they confronted the Stone Witch, which was the second part of their mission. There were going to be fewer dire wolves where they were heading. Hopefully, the only ones would be only her and Rosita. An immortal, all-powerful witch was enough of a threat as it was.

So no, Waverly wasn’t upset about having Nicole along with them. What she was upset about was how easily Wynonna let her come with. She put up less than five words of resistance before shrugging, telling Nicole it was her funeral, then heading off into the woods and expecting them to follow. 

If Waverly had her way, Nicole would be on a plane to Greece right now. Instead, they were less than a hundred yards from the pit Waverly spent her time in captivity down, waiting for chaos to break out so they could have their chance.

“What the—” Waverly heard the faint sound of yelling cut off almost immediately by retching coming from the trailers.

“Now!” Wynonna hissed, leading the charge towards the pit. Just as they planned, Waverly and Rosita dragged the boards off while Nicole stood watch with her Glock drawn. Waverly nearly gagged at the stench of human suffering that only grew stronger the more of the pit revealed. Wynonna must have had a much stronger stomach since she dropped to her knees and stuck her head into the hole.

“Yo, you alive in there?” She sat back upright almost immediately. “Where’s that rope?”

“I’ll find it,” Rosita said before dashing off.

“You did come back,” the Blacksmith’s voice was faint, but hearing it was a huge relief to Waverly.

“Yeah, and we brought something for you.” Wynonna pulled out the horn from under her jacket. They kept it wrapped in cloth to keep it secret from the others, in accordance with their oath. Wynonna dropped it into the pit, and the Blacksmith sighed in relief.

“That’s much better.” Waverly peeked into the pit as she had previously been too nervous to do, remembering the Blacksmith’s emancipated state and imagining the worst. The opposite of her imagination greeted her. The Blacksmith’s clothes were filthy, but she looked as healthy as ever with her horn clenched tightly to her chest. It glowed slightly as it restored her health.

“Do you see Rosita?” Wynonna asked, glancing around.

“Over there,” Nicole pointed in the direction of the trailers, where indeed Rosita was approaching with a coiled rope over her shoulder. She jogged over, dropping the rope to the dirt. Waverly was just about to congratulate her on the find when she spoke up, her voice heavy.

“Nicole, you should get out of here,” she said, not looking up from the rope on the ground. “Things are getting rough over there.”

“I’m in this ‘til the end,” Nicole said resolutely. “I don’t care how rough it gets.” Waverly furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what was going on. She didn’t quite get there before Rosita lifted her gaze. There were tears of regret in the corners of her eyes.

“Have it your way,” she said before kicking the still coiled rope into the pit. Waverly’s jaw dropped in disbelief. 

“I’m sorry, what’s happening?” Waverly asked.

“I tried to warn you,” Rosita said, her voice strained like she was on the verge of tears

“Warn us about what?” Wynonna demanded, her tone edging on suspicion.

“About me.” The voice sent chills down Waverly’s spine. A voice she recognized. A voice she thought she would never hear again. Logic told her it was impossible, but when she spun around and took in Willa standing behind them her heart broke with joy. “You did well spy. Now run along and fetch Bobo. I can handle these three myself.” She waved a hand dismissively at Rosita. 

Waverly didn’t even have time to process the fact that Rosita betrayed them with the sight of her big sister standing right there in the flesh. She thought she was dead. Even with Bobo’s words rattling around in the back of her mind, she didn’t quite believe it. Willa was here, alive. And she looked like she wanted to kill all three of them.

* * *

 

“You’re here,” Wynonna choked out before Waverly could say a word. “Bobo lied.”

“Are you honestly surprised? God, you’re stupid,” the woman said. Though Waverly and Wynonna clearly recognized her, Nicole kept her gun trained on her. She wasn’t about to let her guard down, especially when her companions did just that. The woman was practically screaming “don’t trust me”.

“It’s hard to know what to believe when it comes to him,” Wynonna said. Nicole risked a glance at Waverly, who was still in a state of shock. As she did, she caught Wynonna’s eye. Wynonna gave a tiny shrug, then stepped away from the pit towards the woman.

“Wynonna!” Waverly grabbed her arm, halting her advance. “Don’t.”

“She’s our sister.” It was Nicole’s turn to be utterly shocked. Now that Wynonna pointed it out, she could see the family resemblance between the three. Her sweaty palms tightened around her gun, as the implications as to who she was pointing it at started to sink in.

“She’s with Bobo,” Waverly said. Nicole felt a little better about her own mistrust. Wynonna glanced between her sisters, the anguish on her face plain to see. Her hands were two tight fists, shaking ever so slightly at her sides. She and Waverly seemed to be having a silent conversation, one that ended in moments. Wynonna’s resolve hardened, and she slowly raised one hand to her Colt.

“That’s a little rich,” Willa blurted out when she saw the movement. “Don’t you think, Waverly?”

“What are you talking about?” Waverly crossed her arms defensively, one hand picking at the gauze.

“Yeah, make your point or let it die,” Wynonna said. Her hand froze, though, hovering inches away from the gun handle. Willa laughed, and how casually unhinged it sounded sent chills down Nicole’s spine.

“Oh, come on. I know you don’t really have the mind for it, but think critically. This one?” She pointed a lazy finger at Waverly. “She’s the last person who should criticize my allegiance.”

“Shut up,” Waverly spat through gritted teeth.

“What are you even talking about?” Wynonna repeated Waverly’s question. Nicole was glad she wasn’t the only one who was completely lost.

“Didn’t you wonder how she escaped unscathed?” Willa sauntered toward them as she spoke. Watching her approach, Waverly started to back away. “Bobo’s not the merciful type.”

“She didn’t escape unscathed, dickhead,” Nicole blurted out. All eyes turned to her and she grimaced under the attention. “Willa’s trying to manipulate you, Wynonna.”

“Shut up, Gingervitis.” Willa waved dismissively. “You know nothing about our kind.” She didn’t give Nicole another glance despite the gun pointing in her direction. That dismissal alone was almost enough to make Nicole shoot.

“At least she knows about the concept of loyalty,” Wynonna spat. “Unlike certain traitorous sisters.”

“Exactly my point,” Willa said. She calmer than she had any business being, especially since Wynonna’s hand closed around her gun. “I made my choice, but Waverly never had one. Look!” She pointed an accusatory finger at Waverly. 

Nicole turned and blinked in surprise that Waverly wasn’t where she thought she was. She backed up much further and was standing several yards away, breathing heavily, face screwed up in pain as she glared at Willa. At first, she thought Waverly’s eyes were incredibly bloodshot. That was until she realized they were glowing faintly red, flickering like a dying neon sign. The last time she saw eyes like that, they belonged to monsters who attacked her home.

“You see, she’s one of them,” Willa singsonged. “And you know what that means.”

“No,” Wynonna whispered, her voice cracking. Her hand clenched and the old scar stood out against the tendons. To Nicole’s eyes, it looked abnormally silver.

“Yes. Your blood oath. Remember it?” Willa’s voice was sickening, her eyes crazed. “You made it after Daddy died, with me as your witness. To eradicate the Devil’s Triangle Pack or die trying.” Wynonna’s eyes flicked over to meet Waverly’s.

“I’d let the oath destroy me before hurting you,” she said. She spoke with such determination that the redness faded from Waverly’s eyes somewhat as her expression softened.

The sound of a gunshot split the air and made them all flinch before anyone could say anything else. Nicole jumped so hard she nearly fell into the pit, since it definitely wasn’t her gun that went off and she was the only person who had one drawn. For the first time, she glanced down into it, more concerned with falling to her death than being shot, and nearly jumped again.

An emancipated looking woman Nicole assumed to be the Blacksmith was slowly inching her way out of it. With a few muttered words and signs with her hands, she made small ledges out of earth to grab onto. They melted back into the wall as soon as she put her weight on the next one, providing a means of escaping the pit. She managed to turn her head to look up at Nicole and shake it ever so slightly. Nicole blinked away her surprise and schooled her expression back to normal, determined not to give her away. There were more immediate things she had to concern herself with.

Like the shirtless guy with a bleached mohawk advancing toward them. His beard was parted by several patches of white that looked just as unnatural as his hair. He wore the ugliest, most oversized fur coat Nicole had ever seen, and held a rifle in one hand. It was pointed at the sky, the end still smoking after he shot it. He rolled his eyes at it and tossed it to the side.

“Well well. I should have known you were the cause of all this. Pathetic, honestly,” he drawled.

“Good to see you, Bobo. Did you do something new with your hair? You should get a refund, cause it does not look good, buddy,” Wynonna said.

“Well, then I hope you’re ready to pay it. Generally, when someone throws bleach in your face it doesn’t do wonders for your style.” Bobo stroked his chin with one hand as he spoke. Wynonna winced as if finally remembering the occurrence he was describing.

“Perfect timing, Robert,” Willa chirped.

“Knew you could keep ‘em occupied, baby,” Bobo said without taking his eyes off of Nicole and Wynonna, who were still standing next to each other. “As for you. Give up. You’re outmatched and your friends are dead, or soon to be. May as well accept your fate.”

“Not before I send you to hell,” Wynonna said. Lightning quick, she pulled her special gun from its holster. She pulled back the hammer with her thumb and pointed it at Bobo. “Besides, you’re the ones with guns in your faces.” Instead of backing down, Bobo barked out a laugh.

“Your sister already spilled the beans. Peacemaker is junk. Besides,” he reached out a hand. The gun trembled in Wynonna’s grip before flying out of her hand towards Bobo. He caught it and barely winced when the metal burned his skin upon contact. His eyebrows flew up in shock. “Well, I’ll be damned. You got it to work.”

“I did?” Wynonna sounded as surprised as Bobo. “I mean, yeah, I did! Now give it back.”

“Why do you even try? As we speak, the Stone Witch is ridding the world of the nuisances you call a pack. You’re clearly outmatched in this fight. Give up, like you should have done long ago.” Bobo’s wielded words like weapons, and each one seemed to hammer away at Wynonna’s resolve. She ground her teeth and glared at the ground. 

As she did so, she noticed the Blacksmith in the pit. Her eyes flicked to Nicole, who saw the spark of a plan in them.

“I don’t know, I’d say it’s pretty even right now. In fact, you’re the ones who are outnumbered.” She raised her gaze and Nicole saw that her blue eyes were glowing. “Help our ally, Nicole.” Her voice warped into a growl. Then she tore her leather jacket off and dropped onto all fours.

Nicole didn’t wait to witness her full transformation or Bobo’s reaction. She heard snarls as she dropped to her knees beside the pit and thrust an arm into it. 

The Blacksmith was still a few yards from the top. Even stretching as far as she could, there was still quite a bit of distance between her and Nicole. It was painful to watch her slowly climb the last bit, both out of impatience and sympathy for her emancipated state. 

Finally, she was close enough to reach up and grab Nicole’s hand. Nicole thought nothing of the grime as she hauled backward, slipping on the loose dirt around the edge of the pit. The Blacksmith was basically dead weight and Nicole feared they would both go tumbling down for an agonizing second. With a cry of great effort, she managed to pull the Blacksmith over the edge. They both fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

“Thank you,” the Blacksmith panted. “I need to go find the Stone Witch. That woman is in for a world of pain for what she did to me.” Nicole didn’t get to respond before the Blacksmith scrambled to her feet and took off. Laying on her back, Nicole tilted her head to watch her retreat, her vision a little skewed.

A pair of wolves rolled past, nearly crushing Nicole. They kicked dirt into her eyes and she blinked to clear her vision. She got a better look at the gold and silver masses of fur tangling with each other. It took her a moment to place them as Waverly and Willa. She immediately felt guilty about losing track of Waverly when Bobo showed up and was surprised to see her in her four-legged form. From the way Wynonna described the pull of the dire wolf and the way her eyes were glowing before, she thought for sure that was the form Waverly would Change to. She must have had something strong anchoring her. It would certainly give her a distinct advantage in this fight. As it were, the sisters seemed to be well matched. 

Nicole was about to scramble to her feet to help Waverly when a yelp from someone else in the clearing drew her attention. Her eyes widened as another silver wolf skidded through the dirt, thrown toward the pit like a sack of potatoes. Her hind end fell off the edge, leaving her front paws to scramble for a non-existent hold. Realizing this was Wynonna, Nicole grabbed two fistfuls of fur and heaved. 

Wolf-Wynonna was much heavier than the Blacksmith, but also in a better condition to help herself. When Nicole helped her onto solid ground, she barely had time to huff her thanks before another shadow loomed over them. Apparently, Bobo Changed too, and he was taking full advantage of his dire wolf form. The red eyes that haunted Nicole’s nightmares gleamed from his warped face, and he was well over seven feet tall. His body was covered in short hair that was patched with white like his beard. Worst of all, his claws dripped with Wynonna’s blood. 

Nicole risked a glance at her friend and saw claw marks along one flank. She was breathing heavily, even though she’d only been fighting for a few minutes. Peacemaker was nowhere to be seen, not that Wynonna was able to wield it, for at the moment she was sans thumbs. Compared to Bobo, even her wolf form looked weak. Still, she rose to her paws and stood staunchly between Nicole and Bobo. She bared her fangs and snarled, which Bobo answered with a roar.

As the two collided, Nicole scrambled back as far as she could. She didn’t want to watch a battle that was likely to end with the death of her friend but found it impossible to tear her eyes away. Bobo grabbed Wynonna by the shoulders and flipped her onto her back with ease. Struggle as she might, Wynonna could barely move as he crushed her to the earth, her belly and throat exposed. Bobo grinned horribly as he considered which he would tear open.

He didn’t get the chance. Nicole’s instincts took over when she realized her gun was still in her hand. She aimed it at Bobo and fired shot after shot. Nicole was no slouch when it came to aim, but even if she wasn’t there was no way she could miss at such close range.

Bobo released Wynonna as the second bullet hit him and looked up at Nicole, enraged. Her bullets barely seemed to be doing anything, though terror told her to fire until the gun was empty. She didn’t have to, because Wynonna saw an opportunity. What Bobo didn’t realize that he was mere feet from his own prison pit. Wynonna brought up her back legs and kicked with all her might.

If Bobo didn’t have six bullets in him, that kick might not have done squat. But he did, and it caused him to stumble backward until he lost his footing. His massive front paws flailed in empty air, fruitlessly searching for a handhold as he plummeted. Then he was gone, out of sight in the dark.

Nicole and Wynonna leaned over the edge of the pit to see what became of him. Nicole hoped to find a lifeless body and thought she was right at first. Then the lump at the bottom of the hole stirred and moaned, the sound echoing off the walls. 

She exchanged a glance with Wynonna, unable to read her canine features. Not that she had to struggle with that for long. Her fur and snout retreated, and in seconds Wynonna was back in her two-legged form. 

“I need to go find Peacemaker. Bobo chucked it away. See if you can help Waverly in the meantime.” She was off before Nicole had time to blink at her nudity. 

Snarling drew her attention to Waverly and Willa. She watched the silver wolf kick the golden one hard in the belly, a move reminiscent of the one Wynonna just used to take care of Bobo. The golden wolf rolled to her feet a few yards away, coughing from the kick. She stood with her front legs braced against the ground. Her head and tail twitched unnaturally, and even from this distance, Nicole saw her eyes flickering from hazel to red. That one was Waverly, then. She glared at the Willa — who was getting to her feet — and held her ground. Both were panting heavily, though they were exerting effort in different ways. Waverly was fighting a mental battle; Willa a physical one. It didn’t stop the Willa from pouncing once again.

With ease, Waverly used her momentum against her and slammed her onto the ground. Willa squealed in pain and twisted, trying to break free. Waverly learned from moments ago and held her firm. Nicole wanted to cheer at the clear victory. She would have if Waverly stopped there. Instead, she bared her teeth as if she was moments away from tearing out Willa’s throat.

“Waverly, don’t!” Nicole screamed as she started bolting toward the pair. She was unsure of how to get between them but knew Waverly would regret this for the rest of her life, even if she wasn’t in her right mind and Willa kind of deserved it.

Waverly’s head snapped up as if suddenly realizing what she was doing. She jerked as if she’d been struck and stumbled backward, away from Nicole and also away from Willa. Nicole’s shoulders dropped from where they were tensed up by her ears, even as Waverly’s form shifted and shrank. She clutched her head between both hands and groaned.

“What was I doing?” She mumbled. She gave a sharp cry, her face screwing up in pain as she fought back the monster vying for control. She glanced up at Nicole, pain and gratitude in her eyes. Nicole offered an encouraging smile, even as she watched Waverly’s expression turn to terror. “Willa, don’t!”

“You should have killed me when you had the chance,” Willa snarled. 

The next thing Nicole knew was fire tearing through her chest. She looked down to see the front of her shirt was bloodied, and then the pain overtook her and she collapsed in the dirt.

* * *

Waverly’s head was splitting as she waged war on two fronts. She barely paid attention to her fight with Willa, all of her mental effort going toward keeping herself from killing her. She nearly did, and it was only thanks to Nicole that she pulled herself away. But while Nicole’s timing was near perfect, she wasn’t paying enough attention to her surroundings. Waverly saw Willa shift back, and then all of a sudden she had Bobo’s discarded rifle trained on Nicole, and Nicole was collapsing and the monster was completely drowned out by Waverly’s own screaming.

“Nicole!” She scrambled on hands and knees to the woman she’d known for such a short time to love so fiercely, Willa completely forgotten.

Nicole was staring blankly at the sky, blood bubbling at her lips. One of her hands pressed weakly to the bullet wound in her chest. Waverly hurried to press her own hands over it, trying to help staunch the bleeding. Nicole spasmed as she tried to cry out in pain. She only managed a wet choking sound

“Baby, hang on.” Waverly’s vision blurred as tears dripped onto the backs of her hands. “I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.” In the background, Willa scoffed.

“You’re so weak, you let a damn human influence you. You could have won that fight without breaking a sweat. I never should have been able to hold a candle to you, but here we are. You waste your power and it disgusts me.” Waverly was barely listening, intent on the fading light from Nicole’s fluttering eyes, helpless to do anything but watch. 

“Even now you could save her. You won’t, though, because you’re a disgrace.” Waverly’s anger reared its ugly head as Willa’s words finally broke through. Even as Willa leveled the rifle at her, it still wasn’t enough to let the monster loose, to let her Change.

“The only disgrace here is you,” Wynonna said. “And you just shot my best friend.” For the first time in her life, Waverly heard Peacemaker shoot, and a bullet hole appeared between Willa’s eyes. Fire burned out from the wound, consuming her body before she could hit the ground. And then all that was left of their long lost sister was ash, taken by the breeze.

“Wynonna,” Waverly sobbed as she fell to her knees on Nicole’s other side, careful not to let blood from her own wounds mingle with Nicole’s. “What did you just do?”

“She wasn’t our Willa.” Her words sounded hollow, as if the horror of what she just did was setting in. “We have a bigger problem. Haught, are you still with us?” More tears spilled down Waverly’s face at the question, sure it was useless to ask.

“Yes,” Nicole breathed, surprising Waverly with her ability to speak. Her sightless eyes flicked toward Waverly as if she could actually see through the pain of her body shutting down. Waverly would have sobbed with relief if she thought that was a sign everything was going to be ok. Nicole had lost too much blood, her voice was too weak. Even now, more blood spilled between Waverly’s fingers. Willa had always been a crack shot, and it appeared she didn’t let her skills slip over the years. This was a fatal wound.

Nicole seemed to realize it too. “I wish...we had more...time,” she said.

“I wish we did, too,” Waverly said. Willa’s final words bounced around in her head. There was a way, but Waverly would burn in hell before subjecting Nicole to the cost.

Waverly grit her teeth to hold back the sob as Nicole’s breathing slowly became shallower and shallower. In a show of solidarity rather than actually doing any good, a second pair of hands pressed over Waverly’s, the scar across the back of one of them becoming the new landing place for tears. It made Waverly look up. 

Wynonna’s expression was one of agony as she watched Nicole’s dying face. Her eyes glowed faintly, emotions begging her to tap into her power. There was little good in Changing. This was not an enemy they could fight.

Or was it?

“Turn her.” Waverly demanded without preamble.

“Are you insane?” Wynonna asked.

“Please, Wynonna. You heard what she said, and you can save her. You’re already bleeding.”

“Why don’t you?” It was a pointless question. If Waverly bit her or mixed their blood and she turned, Nicole would be a dire wolf. The only thing more dangerous than a dire wolf who was born that way was one that was turned. They weren’t brought up learning to control themselves. Waverly was unwilling to unleash that kind of monster, even if it could save Nicole’s life.

“You have to do it now, if you’re going to do it at all.” Wynonna squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

“If she doesn’t change I’ll just kill her faster.”

“If she doesn’t change, she’ll die anyway.” Now that there was hope, Waverly was frantic. “What are you waiting for?” Nicole’s chest collapsed alarmingly under her strength. Waverly let up, immediately guilty about causing more pain. It wasn’t like it made a big difference, though. “If you’re worried about the pain, she can’t feel anything right now. Do something before it’s too late!” They didn’t have time for Wynonna to agonize over this decision. Every second it took to make was slimming Nicole’s chances for survival.

“I’m sorry,” Wynonna said. 

Whether it was directed at Nicole or Waverly was too unclear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW I wonder what happens next!
> 
> sorry for the long wait between updates, but here's an extra long, extra angsty final chapter. All that's left now is the epilogue. No idea when that's coming out. 
> 
> Thanks so much for sticking with me throughout this whole thing. Its definitely the longest, most complete fic I've ever written, and I'm proud of it for that fact. It still reads like a rough first draft to me, maybe I'll go back and clean it up later.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, im starting yet another multichapter fic. I hope you all like it! I'm going to try and stick with a regular update schedule. We'll see how that goes, but for now I'll be posting new chapters on tuesdays. Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading


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